Change
by itskathybabe
Summary: Once again caught up in a heated argument, a weird twist of fate causes Klaus and Caroline to wake up to a big problem...their bodies have been switched with each other's. With no clear way of changing them back, a witch encourages them to try and learn to settle their differences and work together, even if it means living each other's lives until they can find a solution. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Change**

Caroline thrummed her fingers rapidly on her bare thighs to the rhythm of her flipping stomach as she leaned against the brick alley wall of the local Mystic Falls Grill. Her stomach was twirling in butterflies in nervousness and anxiety over what she was about to do.

Once again, her friends needed her to be the great distraction so they could slip something by Klaus unnoticed.

It just so happened this "something" they were currently taking from under his nose was Elena, her vampire turned best friend gone psycho after she killed Connor, a creepy vampire hunter who was out to get them not too long ago.

She checked her phone for the millionth time in the past five minutes for some sort of encouraging message from her boyfriend Tyler but her inbox was (_of_ _course_) empty.

Caroline _hated _being the distraction. It put her in the hybrid's line of fire every time. Not once has anything she done held his attention long enough that actually kept him from continuing on with his evil villain to-do list, and he more often than not ran away from her in an angry storm of murder and blood thirst.

But tonight, she needed him occupied long enough for Tyler and Stefan to get Elena _out_ and _safe_.

Thus, explaining her bare legs in the middle of December.

When Tyler told her to scurry out of his house and direct Klaus' attention elsewhere, she threw on her skimpiest, most sexually appealing outfit she could find in her closet.

Her unused "adds 3 cup sizes!" bra from the only lingerie store in the Mystic Mall came out of its hidden alcove tonight and her breasts were clad in oversized pillows of cotton, cushion and wiry support.

_My boobs look fantastic, he won't know what hit 'em_, she thought to herself as she gave her breasts a slight shimmy, causing them to jiggle in place for a few seconds. Her look tonight eased her worrying thoughts over how exactly she'll approach the hybrid's attention, preying on his sexual interest in her would obviously do the trick tonight.

She felt dirty.

The high moon shone brightly overhead, reflecting off her brightly painted red toe nails peeking out of her strappy black platform heels as she listened in to the bartender take Klaus' drink order.

_That's my cue_, she internally encouraged as she casually made her way to the front of the grill and over to Klaus.

"The place looks pretty good considering your hybrid got blown up in it," she quipped, unable to stop the haughty words from tumbling out of her mouth.

She gave herself kudos for the added sultriness of her voice.

Klaus turned around at the sound of her arrival and watched in rapt fascination as she slowly shrugged out of her jacket, she fought to contain a smirk as she watched him eye her chest. The deep plunging neckline of her black silk romper exposed her cleavage, wiggling beneath the fabrics with every movement she made out of her leather jacket.

Her inner insecurity reveled in his fascination, but another part, a more shy part of her, wondered what her appeal was to the powerful man. She was plain compared to the exotic appearances of Elena or even Bonnie.

"Caroline." Klaus finally hummed, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

She smiled in faux coyness, further pushing her breasts together as she leaned in next to him to whisper, "I want you to give Elena back."

"Ahh. They sent you to sweet talk me. Well," he paused, trailing a line of fire as his eyes wondered from her hairline all the way down to her toes, "good form, but I'm afraid I'd have to deny."

She clenched her stomach muscle, momentarily dropping the charades. _Of_ _course_ he would see through her sleazy act.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"She needs my help."

She scoffed at his response.

"Look, I'm not going to burden you with the gory details but you've got enough on your plate already." He smirked, implying something between the lines as he smiled innocently up at her.

She narrowed her eyes at his attempt at benevolence, forgetting that she actually still _was_ in a relationship with Tyler and the fake break-up was just a ruse she had to keep around Klaus for the time being.

"My failed relationship is none of your business actually." She snapped.

She flagged down the bartender for a much needed drink. Klaus remained silent next to her but judging by the goose bumps and little hairs standing at end on her arm, he was still watching her every movements.

"Stop staring at me." She hissed, elbowing him in the shoulder as she leaned over to give the bartender her order. "I'll have whatever he's having," she nodded her head in Klaus' direction.

As the bartender poured her a glass of Pinot Noir (_of course he would order the most expensive bottle the Grill's bar has to offer_) Klaus leaned in to stick his nose, quite literally, into her meticulously curled hair.

"Then why dress so provocatively if not to entice me, love?" he murmured into her ear. She could feel the heat radiating from his face as it hovered near her temple, the shivers rolling down her spine had nothing to do with the cold winter air.

She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the deep red liquor as she plopped down on the barstool next to his. She watched Klaus slither back into his seat, eyes never leaving hers as his infuriatingly smug smirk lit up his face beneath the bar's dimmed lights.

There was a moment of companionable silence before Klaus broke it. "Just know that if Tyler were still sired to me, he never would have hurt you."

She turned her head to stare at him, confusion painted on her face clear as day as she looked at Klaus, as if staring at him long and hard enough would unravel the secrets he kept behind his serious gaze.

"I wouldn't have let him." He finished, his dark blue eyes boring into hers as if to drive some sort of point home.

The anxiety, the anticipation, the restlessness she had felt before over her aversion to being 'the distraction' fled her mind and uneasy stomach as she stayed locked in a stare match with him. She rested her heeled feet on the metal bar underneath Klaus' seat, her ankles crossed between his stretched out legs as they unknowingly leaned closer to one another.

To a random passerby, they would have looked like a young couple, flourishing in the mystery and allure of their lust.

She stiffened and sat back quickly, bringing her legs back to her own chair as she quickly crossed them away from him.

Klaus seemed unperturbed by her sudden retreat, probably accustomed to it by now. She sneaked a peek at him from behind her curtain of hair and frowned in confusion as she watched him smile to himself happily, he might have been just as surprised as she was at the position they were unknowingly in.

A vibration from her cell in her jacket pocket reminded her of her mission and why she was there in the first place.

She unlocked the text, keeping sure Klaus couldn't see the screen.

**From: **Stefan

_- I lost Elena._

_- I need a vampire to kill. I'll turn someone if I have to._

_- Get an answer. Now._

Caroline shakily put away her phone, wary about what she was about to do. She looked up, surprised Klaus was already watching her, an expectant smile on his face.

She knew better than to assume he was actually relaxed. His hardened eyes told a different story.

_So much for keeping him distracted_, she thought, wincing at what she was about to do.

She clicked her tongue and sighed, "so here's the thing…" she began, smiling brightly at him, hoping it would ease his imminent wrath. "I didn't just come here to try to get you to release Elena."

"You don't say." The relaxed smile freezing on his face as he watched her with wide expectant eyes.

"I came here to distract you so that Stefan could gotoyourhouseandbreakherout… which he did…" she grimaced as she watched him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as s hurt frown crossed his features. "And don't get mad…but then… he… lost… her…"

Klaus flew up, his seat screeching behind him with the sudden movement. Caroline ran behind him, grabbing her things as they exited the Grill at supersonic speed, "Klaus!" she called after him, already halfway into the thick of the woods.

"Caroline, you're beautiful, but if you don't stop talking I _will_ kill you." He turned back around to the direction of his mansion but her arm shot out, stopping him.

Immediately, she knew it was the wrong thing to do because she found herself face first into the tree next to her, Klaus pressed firmly along the length of her back. Her hair was being swept into her face as his slow breath brought the loose fringe to blow gently against the movements. "Caroline, give me one good reason–"

"They figured out how to stop the hallucinations." She gasped as he twirled her around quickly, slamming her, albeit it gently, against the same tree trunk.

"Okay. You have ten seconds to tell me." He ordered gently. His dark blue eyes stormed over in the darkness as flecks of gold and black simmered out from his soul to the surface.

She struggled to find words as his constricting grip on her upper arms stressed the danger she was currently in.

"10… 9… 8…"

"I don't exactly know…" she mumbled honestly. Klaus' eyes were now almost vibrating in his quick anger, "but Stefan said something about needing a vampire to kill! He knows what to do!" she rushed out before he could do something he might regret.

"Great. We can use you and rid my life of your deceptive ways." He picked her up and the world swirled around her, faster than she could ever attempt at going the trees blurred by her in indistinguishable flashes of morphed browns and greens. Before she knew it, she was standing in the middle of a room in his mansion.

Elena's scent was heavy in the air. _This must have been where he was keeping her "safe," _she thought to herself as she took in the various artworks, marble statues and neatly made bed.

One statue in particular stood out from the rest, but she ignored her curiosity as she caught sight of Stefan, standing with his back to them in front of an empty fireplace. "Jeremy's on his way."

Klaus remained silent, regarding Stefan as he kept Caroline in his clutches.

She noted the way Klaus was standing. Defensive and ready to attack.

She shook off the feeling of regret and shrugged out of his grip, Stefan's words distraction enough to get him to loosen his hold on her.

"Why, pray tell, is the Gilbert boy coming here?" Klaus demanded, stepping forward to attack if need be.

"Because he's a potential hunter." Stefan supplied, finally turning around. His curious eyes met hers and she nodded at his silent question. _I'm fine_, she thought, sending him a small reassuring smile. "Jeremy needs to kill a vampire in order to activate his hunter's instinct. Once it's activated, Elena will be released from Connor's curse."

"And you need a vampire for him to kill." He narrowed his gaze. "Fine. Take your pick, there's a whole town filled with people to choose from."

She turned to Klaus, wondering why he wasn't serving her up on a silver platter for Jeremy to take like he was so ready to do before.

"You can't do that." She interrupted as Stefan was about to agree with him. "There are innocent people here, you can't just–"

"There's no time, Caroline, Elena has a foot in death's door and we can't just hunt down some hard cold criminal at this time. We need someone fast. Jeremy's on his way to the grill. _Don't worry_, Caroline" he tried to reassure, "I'll make sure it's not a complete innocent." Stefan said as he ran out of the house without another word. She turned to run after him, but Klaus' arm shot out to stop her.

"I rather like his plan." Klaus smirked down at her.

She gasped as suddenly a new, better, plan began forming in her mind so fast she had no time to ponder the ramifications of it. "Use Chris!"

Klaus raised a brow at the familiar name. "My _hybrid_?"

She hesitated, before throwing all caution to the wind. "You can use Chris! I mean he was the one to lose Elena… he's obviously not following orders correctly. Besides…we both know he's not innocent. Isn't it better killing someone to free them of your evil clutches forever than ha–"

"Tread carefully, love, you're still in rocky waters with me." He growled, insulted by her insinuation of killing his hybrid to free him from his 'evil clutches.'

"I heard he was leaving town tonight," she supplied, silently hoping the angels in Heaven had a soft spot for a pretty conniving blonde cheerleader like herself.

She wouldn't fit in in Hell.

She was desperate for him to cooperate with her strategy. She slowly backed away from him, fully expecting a major hybrid freak show to ensue from his wrath at her insinuations.

"That's unfortunate." He murmured, stepping towards her like a cat towards a fearful mouse.

"Okay then, I'll beg then!" she clasped her hands together and rushed towards him. "Please, Klaus. Please. _Please_ don't let Stefan turn an innocent person, damn it! _Please_!" She whispered. Her first and only attempt at formulating a new plan of action backfired completely and she was in even hotter water with him than ever before.

He remained silent as he regarded her carefully, watching her red lips pout together. She was well aware with the way her hands were clasped, that her upper arms were pushing her breasts together.

Caroline hoped now than ever before that Klaus was forgetting that he was a first class gentleman and let his male hormones run wild.

"Go out with me." He supplied suddenly.

Her nervous trembling immediately stopped as her brows flew into her hairline in disbelief.

"_Excuse_ me?" she snapped, unable to completely hide her shock and revulsion at the idea of going on a date with him.

"What could it hurt? Jeremy can have my hybrid, you get to keep a guilt free conscious, and _I_ am _finally_ permitted my long overdue chance to show you a small fraction of what this world has to offer you."

Caroline stared at him with wide eyes, a small bubble of laughter escaped her mouth and she soon couldn't stop the hysterics from bursting through.

Judging by Klaus' irritated frown, he was not as amused. She took a minute to actually think about what he had just said. If she went on this date… he might keep up the ruse that she was indeed broken up with Tyler and that he and Hayley had moved on…

But… "Not a chance." She said finally once she composed herself.

Klaus gave her a cool smile in response. "Quite alright. I'm sure Stefan's already found a–"

"I hate you." She spat, taking his hand and shaking it in agreement before he would change his mind. She watched in a mixture of relief and dread as he brought his cellphone to his ear and relayed the new plans to Stefan.

She didn't even notice he didn't bother to let go of her hand.

She stood at the edge of the Lockwood property, shuffling her feet on the mossy ground. If she had a working heartbeat, it would be shuddering in regret at the sound of the happy goodbyes between Tyler, Chris, and Hayley from inside the house. They had no idea one of them was going to die.

Klaus stood next to her, waiting for an opportune moment to show up at the doorstep. Stefan was not far off, giving Jeremy an encouraging pep talk on how to kill Chris correctly.

"After Klaus' signal, I'll stake Chris. Klaus will make sure Tyler and Hayley back off long enough so you can use this to take his heart out. Got it?" Stefan relayed as Jeremy nodded back uncertainly as he took a small axe from Stefan's outstretched hands.

She fought off lingering apprehension at the situation she was in, she had spared an innocent human's life, only to lead Chris to the slaughter.

Tyler's front door opened, golden light illuminating the dark front lawn, and Klaus used it as his cue to flash to the doorway.

She began to hear arguments, screaming and trashing as Klaus yelled at Hayley to mind her own business.

Caroline turned around, walking back through the forest toward Klaus' house where she had left her jacket, keys, and cellphone in her haste to follow him to Tyler's. She didn't want stand there in the darkness and listen to them pleading for their friend's life.

She was no different than Klaus, she realized as she entered through his unlocked front door. Using people for some sort of gain, it was like rule Number 1 in a Monster's Guidebook.

She sat down on the bed in the same room Elena had been occupying and dropped her head onto her shoulders with a weary sigh. She needed to fess up to Tyler. He would be devastated if he found out Chris' blood was, to an extent, on her hands.

Caroline got up to grab her things when the sound of the front door slamming shut alerted her to someone's presence. Before she could even turn around, a masculine and spicy scent attacked her airwaves as she was being pushed into a wall.

"Seriously? Haven't you had enough pushing me into things?" she fought against Klaus' grip on her arms, restraining her from moving further.

"You have no idea how hard it is to be the leader of these good for nothing hybrids." He spit as he released her grip. She turned around ready to smack his hands away. He was too close to her liking and it was messing with her senses.

"Day in and day out I provide them with a roof over their heads and my protection. I give them the gift of immortality, of no longer being slaves to the full moon, and for _what_–" he spits, angrily kicking the feet of an ornate pedestal near him, the priceless artwork toppled over and fell to the floor with a loud crash.

What once was a beautifully crafted marble sculpture of a woman's bust, her hair decorated in a halo of marble lilies, was now broken beyond repair.

They didn't spare a glance at the ancient white stone, littering the floor in several broken chunks. They didn't notice two dark green orbs lighting up and spilling from the cracked eye sockets. They didn't notice the small spheres float away from them, dancing in graceful circles low on the ground to stop and hide in a dark corner of the room to remain unnoticed.

They didn't see it. But even if they did, nothing would have stopped the events of what was to happen later that night.

"–to have them spit it back in _my_ face. Is asking to obey _me_, to serve _me_, too much of a bloody hassle?" he roared, swiping his elongated claws over the large painted canvases along the wall behind her.

She let out a soft squeak as he flitted along the room in his rage. He flipped a leather reading chair with a roar into the air, it flipped before crashing into the shaking wall. She watched as several hung paintings swung in their place, falling loudly to the floor. A million wooden chips scattered along the floor and to her feet as the ornate frames bent and broke from his over reactive assault.

Frozen and too terrified to move, she watched as he bit into a decorative pillow in blind abandon, tossing the string remains into the air to strike at something else.

White feathers floated onto the hardwood floor, scattering onto the litter piling up in his wake as he flew around the room like the Tasmanian devil in an angry haze.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of her and she was mildly impressed with herself that she did not flinch.

He was huffing, breathing deeply, trying to control himself as he watched her passively.

"And you knew." He accused finally. "You knew your dimwitted mongrel of an ex-suitor was unsiring Chris right beneath my nose."

She stood her ground, squaring her shoulders and pointing her nose up in false confidence. "Perhaps."

"I just might kill him, you know." Klaus said, finally calm enough so he wasn't expelling huge gusts of air from his lungs. His eyes were still hard, golden as his vampiric veins pulsed beneath his eyes. A long distinct vein bulged along his neck and she worried his artery would burst.

"No, you won't." She sighed, relaxing her shoulders and hesitantly bringing her hand to his bicep. "We still have that date to go on, and until then… you won't be killing _anyone_. Got it?" she demanded.

Klaus' left eye twitched in his visible effort to not throttle her where she stood. She stood her ground though.

"You best be on your way, love" he muttered darkly, staring around his demolished room in defeat, "leave before I begin to question my newfound sympathy for you."

The clock read 3:14 AM as Caroline lied asleep in her bedroom that night. She was unaware of the dim green orb mysteriously floating through her closed door only to stop and begin slowly circling over her slumbering body.

Her bed sheet was strewn haphazardly at the edge of her bed, tangled along her feet as she slept uneasily. In the depths of her unconscious mind, she was plagued by fear ridden dreams of tonight's deceit, past horrors, and Klaus' volatile reaction. Her legs twitched uneasily every few moments.

Her eyes fluttered frantically beneath her closed lids, breaths coming in soft pants as she fought off whatever demons plagued her nights. Her hands clenched and unclenched into her pillow as her body stewed in its own cold sweat.

Nightmares weren't a regular occurrence to her… but when they came there was no escaping them.

Her clock's bright red numbers ticked as 3:14 turned to 3:15.

The orb took a life of its own, contorting itself and lengthening to the very shape of her curled body before vibrating and morphing into her.

She was too lost in the torment of her night terrors to hear the eerie feminine whispers emanating from the opaque floating sphere, quietly echoing around her room as it embedded itself into her very skin.

Suddenly, as the orb disappeared completely into her body, she stilled, uncurling herself from her fetal position and lying rigidly onto her back, suddenly, loud snores reverberated throughout the small room. Her hands unconsciously clasped together onto her breasts, her light pink babydoll camisole bunching up with the action. Every so often, soft mumbles would tumble out of her mouth. Unintelligible and garbled, slow tufts of air released from her lungs rhythmically. The perfectly controlled rise and fall of her chest ticked with the sound of an ancient metronome only audible to her ears.

At that exact same moment, the very same thing was happening inside of the Mikaelson mansion.

A similar orb, eerily whispering ancient words into the stillness of the night, gracefully morphed into Klaus' stiff body.

Even in sleep, he was on the defense. His back was rigid against the mattress. His arms were knotted together onto his chest, protecting his exposed torso against anyone foolish enough to attack him in his sleep.

As the orb lost itself completely inside of Klaus' body, his rigid back relaxed as he curled in on himself into a comforting fetal position leaving his bare back exposed to the open expanse of his suite. He kicked his black satin bed sheets off of him to tangle against his feet. His loud booming snores quietened as his legs twitched and kicked out, nightmares of untold horrors brought him to a cold sweat as he gripped his pillow in his clenched hand.

When the sun rises, Caroline and Klaus will be in for a very, very interesting morning...

**A/N: Well, that's one chapter down! Forgive me for the resuse of TVD dialogue, it was a necessary evil just this once.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything revolving around The Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing the characters for my own follies.**

**This idea came to me suddenly. I don't remember what my train of thought was, but all I had going in my mind was "**wow, I haven't found a story where Klaus and Caroline switch their – OH MY GOD**" and then I was writing ideas for future scenes in my notebook like a madwoman, and I eventually shaped the skeleton for this fic. When I got home and began writing this chapter pretty much wrote itself.**

**I'm very proud of what I have in mind and I hope my writing does my imagination justice.**

**I'd like to read your opinions, your reviews will help me shape this… and what's the point in reading other than to read something you **_**want**_** to read? I want to know what you guys want, and hopefully I'm brave and strong enough to put them together into words you want to see.**

**The title "Change" comes from the song Change by Kopecky Family Band. Give it a listen and try to figure out why I chose it specifically. ;)**

**Thank you for reading. Please, please review.**

***My **tumblr** is: **itskathybabe** – on there you can find my Twitter as well, you can reach me at whichever site you feel comfortable with. Feel free to give a friendly "hello!" I don't bite and I'm always open to making new friends!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'd like to say thank you to everyone who gave me such positive reviews on Chapter one! I was a nervous ball of emotions the instant I sent in that chapter, I've never had anyone read any work of mine, and to have so many people excited about this story really encourages me to keep going and do better for you all! Thank you!**

_**! MUST READ BELOW BEFORE CONTINUING ! **_

**Things will get a little confusing in this chapter. Klaus and Caroline are in stuck in separate bodies, but they will have the mentality that they're not.**

**For example: Klaus will refer to Caroline's hand as "****his**** hand" but in reality, he's sitting there staring at the red nail polished fingertips on Caroline's hand, because he's stuck in **_**her**_** body.**

**Do you understand?**

**Let me explain it further: it might be Caroline's hand he's looking down at, but I need to write it as "and Klaus sits there… examining ****his**** now small, dainty hand. The red nail polish reflects ****his**** confusion back at him as he watched his face, Caroline's face, twist in bewilderment."**

**I really hope this helps, if not, just send me a message and I'll try my best!**

* * *

**Change**

"_My body is a cage that keeps me_

_From dancing with the one I love_

_But my mind holds the key"_

–_My Body is A Cage by Arcade Fire_

**Chapter Two**

Caroline snapped her eyes open to the familiar sounds of Tyler's gruff chuckles, the vibration of the noise danced along her skin as he trailed sloppy wet kisses down the column of her neck.

"I thought you'd never wake up." He whispered as his hand caressed her tangled hair back, running the soft pads of his fingertips from her temple to rest on her pouted lips.

"Shh, Tyler, you're gonna wake the sheriff," she joked, tossing her legs around his waist and easily switching their positions so that she was on top. She hid her face in his neck as she peppered playful kisses wherever she could reach, digging her fingers into his coarse hair. "We have about an hour to kill." She suggested as her nose softly trailed from the shell of his ear to rest next to his own nose.

His hands gripped her hips tighter onto his so she wouldn't move, grinding her down onto his arousal. She couldn't hold back the wanton moan as large callused hands pawed at her ass, digging her into his hard-on impossibly harder so that she could feel nothing but his length rubbing along her. Flipping her back over so she was trapped against the mattress and his solid body, she was kissed deeply and passionately.

She sighed happily against the thick lips, lovingly peppering small pecks onto her mouth.

She opened her eyes and froze in shock, instead of Tyler's warm brown, a set of familiar blue eyes gazed back at her mischievously. Gasping, she choked on her mortification, staring at Klaus' smug face that had been all over her moments before.

"Hello, love."

Caroline gasped loudly as the seductive echo of Klaus' greeting rang loudly in her ears.

_It's not real_, she reassured herself, trying to ignore the oddly weird feelings of arousal in her lower regions.

She snapped her eyes open, ready to get dressed and ready for school, but instead she twisted her face in confusion as she stared up at a dark velvet red canopy hanging over the plushy bed she laid on.

She sat up, confused as she took in the unfamiliar room.

The windows were drawn shut, closing her off from the glittering morning sun. Dark wooden panels along the walls were tastefully decorated with various pieces of artwork.

She would have called it a beautiful room, but the horrific and gruesome scenes of wars and bloodbaths painted onto large canvases loomed dangerously in her peripherals, making the room anything but beautiful.

With wide eyes, she sat up without looking, taking in the mess of the rest of the room. Various articles of clothing were strewn about, blank canvases leaned against one of the furthest walls and several opened and unopened bottles of acrylic paints were littering the hard wooden floor haphazardly.

_Am I in Klaus' house?_

No sooner had the thought left her mind, Caroline glanced down at her body.

She immediately wished she hadn't.

She gasped as she took in the half naked male body attached to her, and not the just-had-sex-and-he-hasn't-moved-away-yet type of attached, but this body was _literally _attached to her freaking head! Her hands came up to paw at the skin, taught and sinewy muscles moved with her prodding as she manipulated the flesh under her trembling hands.

She hesitantly lifted the covers off her lap, revolted to find a freaking _penis_,_ (a penis!?) _erect and standing proudly at attention, staring back at her as it twitched and bobbed with her every movement.

"What the fu–" her voice reached her ears, "_what_ _the_ _fuck!?_" she shouted, as a loud and boisterous, deeply masculine, yell came out of her vocal chords.

A far off sound of a cell phone ringing was eclipsed by the shrill screaming now erupting from her… _his?_... her mouth.

She jumped out of bed, barely sparing a glance at the pair of boxer-briefs she stepped over, before running to an adjacent door she assumed was the bathroom. The…penis…bobbed up and down erratically, slapping against her, _(uhh, his?)_ legs and abdomen with each thundering step.

Turning on the light quickly, she flew back, crashing loudly into the glass wall of the shower behind her at the humiliating view.

Her eyes stayed locked on the mirror, horrified and beyond confused by the reflection looking back at her.

Her breathing picked up as a wave of panic overcame her. In the mirror in front of her, stared back a very scared, very horrified, very _naked_, Niklaus Mikaelson.

She screamed.

* * *

Klaus snapped awake at the quiet sound of a door softly creaking open.

"Sweetie? Wake up, you're gonna be late for–" Liz's words were cut off as he wrapped his hand around her neck, quickly pushing her up against the far wall. Her wide panicked eyes stared back at him in fear and confusion.

"What are you doing in my–" his words trailed off as the musical lilt of his voice reached his ears. He dropped Liz, staring at the small dainty hands that had been throttling her in surprise at being woken up. Bright red nail polish reflected back at him as he turned the tiny hands every which way. His gaze trailed to thin pale arms… he knew these arms... he's spent hours drawing these hands…

"What the–" he wrapped his hands around his neck, thin and frail under his grip. Soft hair tickled his shoulders and he looked down, he was clad in woman's negligee but it wasn't what surprised him.

Boobs.

A set of perky breasts peeked at him, nipples pointed beneath the silk shirt dangling off frail shoulders, half obstructing his view of the floor.

In a state of panic, he looked around the room to find he was standing in the middle of Caroline's childhood bedroom with her mother standing stock still against the wall, hands hesitantly twitching towards her gun tucked into its holder at her waist.

"Caroline, has something happened?" Liz whispered hesitantly.

"What are you talking about?" He snapped, ready to attack her again out of confusion rather than in defense.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" he paid no mind to Liz Forbes, forcing her out of the way to stand in front of the vanity mirror. He froze in place, fixed as still as a marble statue as his eyes frantically took in the sight before him.

Caroline's eyes, wide and blue, gaped back at him. He lifted his hand to touch long tangled blonde curls, horrified to find his reflection mirroring back the small action.

She was _him_… _he_ was her.

"What have these fools done to me…" he muttered darkly, momentarily forgetting he wasn't alone in the room.

"Caroline, I don't know what's going on but you're–" he paid no mind to the rest of her sentence, hurdling over the mattress at vampire speed and dialing his cellphone number with Caroline's home phone.

"_The number you have called is unavailable, at the tone please leave your–" _he growled, hanging up and quickly pounding the numbers onto the keypad again.

"_The number you have called is unavaila–" _He slammed the phone back onto its cradle, growling in anger in confusion as he turned back to a wide-eyed Liz.

"What have they done to me?" he growled lowly, stalking up to her predatorily. A niggling feeling in the back of his mind reminded him not to hurt Liz, she was the woman he fancies mother, but he paid it no mind, too lost in a clouded haze of worry over how he had been slipped into another body without his awareness.

Caroline's body no less.

"Sweetie, what–" Liz stammered, perplexed over what had gotten into her daughter.

"Where's my body!?" He roared, but his usually fearsome howls left much to be desired coming from a shrill teenage girl's voice.

Liz opened her mouth to retort but he dashed through the half open balcony doors at breakneck speed, jumping off the wooden railing and landing on the pads of his, of _Caroline's_, feet.

Pumping his now short, thin legs as fast as they would go, which wasn't nearly as fast as he was used to, he dashed to his mansion across town with the nagging suspicion that if he was in her body… where was _she?_

Klaus stopped short at the sound of a very masculine scream booming throughout the walls of his home.

He knew that voice. It was his own voice.

He crashed through the locked doors, wood splintering on impact. He ignored the bruising pain in this weaker body from the strength he just exerted as he ran up the three flights of stairs to his bedroom.

Bursting through the doors, he stopped short at the sight of himself standing stark naked in his bathroom.

Klaus gaped openly at the sight of his own naked body turning to stare at him in fear and confusion.

"What the hell…" Caroline grumbled, trying to manage the odd growls emanating somewhere from deep within her chest, _(Klaus' chest)_.

"If this is some new trick your friends are using to get back at me, I swear I will show no mercy on this town. And if you think for one second that I won't find a way to put us back to our rightful bodies, you lot have a new thing coming for you." He snapped, rushing toward himself.

Caroline stumbled back, bumping once again into the glass doors of the shower stall as she watched her own body haughtily stride towards her.

"Klaus?" she mumbled, hesitantly stepping forward. She ducked her head down to peer at her small body, she never realized just how tall Klaus was in comparison to her.

Klaus tilted his head back to peer up at himself, "Caroline, _what_ have you done?"

She shook her head, Klaus' heavy head bobbed from side to side on her shoulders. "I didn't do anything?" she snapped defensively, her sharp tone losing its effect as she lifted her hand to hesitantly examine her face, her real face, the one Klaus was currently trapped behind.

He shook his head, blonde curls flying around wildly with the movement as his eyes narrowed up at her. "This isn't your friends doing then, I presume?"

She dropped her hand, which had been poking his cheek,_ (technically it was her cheek)_ repeatedly.

Caroline's head whirled in confusion. She couldn't focus on one problem at a time. Who did this to them? How did this happen? _When_ did this happen? What had they done to deserve this? Why _them_?

"Why are you naked?" she snapped suddenly, gesturing to the male body she was now occupying.

Klaus trailed his eyes down his body, a sight that was strange seeing as how it was actually _her _eyeballs that were glued to _his _chest.

"I sleep in the nude." He supplied, "interesting though how you haven't gotten my body clothed…" he trailed off suggestively, "I presume it's because you like what you see?" his brows wiggled as a slight, very out-of-place, smirk lit Caroline's body's face.

Angrily, her hands fisted at her waist, a very feminine move on such a masculine body. "Seriously? I was a little too shocked to do anything other than scream in panic." she snipped, glancing down at her body standing before her covered only by the thin pink pajama's she remembered putting on the night before after a relaxing, and much needed, bath.

She pushed Klaus out of the way, which in hindsight might not have been the smartest thing to do, as she watched in panic as her small body crashed against the bathroom wall, clattering all his hygiene products off its shelf and onto the floor.

"Watch it!" Klaus growled, huffing as he fixed the negligee back in place as he stood back up. "You're in my body now. You're in possession of my hybrid strength!"

She glanced down at her hands, large and callused and unusually hairy. She had his hybrid abilities… she didn't dare ponder the ramifications of that bit of information.

Klaus ran into his closet, procuring a set of men's clothing for her to put on.

Caroline stared at the grey Henley and black jeans in distaste, "don't you ever wear colors?" she mumbled, holding out the clothes delicately as if they would jump up and bite her.

Klaus growled lowly, and she almost laughed at how _not_ scary her own growl was. "We can't tell anyone." He said suddenly after watching Caroline fumble with the strange buttons of his expensive jeans.

Her head snapped up to meet his, he was pacing the floor. She watched her own dirty bare feet trail along the Persian rug next to his bed.

She snorted at the bright red toe nails Elena had helped her paint only a few nights ago. If she had known Klaus was going to be wearing her body like a prom dress, she would have gone for a more feminine bubble gum pink just to spite him.

"What are you nuts, of course we have to tell someone! We need to fix this shit! The Miss Mystic Pageant is _tomorrow_… they can't have it without the former winner there, not to mention there's a cheer leading competition coming up and I'm the head captain. I need to–"

"Caroline!" Klaus growled, gripping her shoulders tightly as her cerulean blue eyes stared intensely at her. "I think this is a little more important! If any of your friends, namely Damon Salvatore, find out about this, they, _he_, will have no problem in getting rid of me in this less than durable body."

She hissed, slapping his hands away from her as she stood up to pace. She stopped and stared down at Klaus' unusually skinny toes digging into the soft rug below her.

"They can't kill you, and they won't kill me. Either way it doesn't matter, killing you would mean killing all of us and since our line of vampires begins with you, they won't even try." She reasoned.

Klaus rolled his eyes at her ignorance, irritated with the situation "there's _always_ a way, sweetheart. And knowing your friends, they'll find one if they find out. We aren't telling anyone!" he finalized.

She begrudgingly agreed, half worried about this new found allegiance with Klaus.

Caroline sat back down on his bed, worriedly nibbling on Klaus' already chewed on thumbnail. "Is this anything like when you were in Tyler's body?" she asked, suddenly noticing the British twang her new voice had unconsciously been speaking in.

Klaus sat down next to her, thinking over her question. He shook his head, blonde hair flying every which way with the movements. "No. When I was in Tyler's, or even Alaric's body, they were in there too… hidden away, asleep for the most part, while I took it over. You and I, we were quite _literally_ switched."

"We need to talk to a witch. Maybe Bonnie can–"

"No!" Klaus snapped, rolling his eyes in irritation, long dark lashes fluttering with the movement, as he stood back up to pace again, "we tell no one. Perhaps we _should_ tell your mother, she might want to know why you attacked her this morning–"

"What!" She bellowed, the loud masculine voice momentarily scaring her before she realized that she had been the one who made the noise. "What did you do to her?" she demanded, gripping Klaus by the shoulders, reveling in the fact that she could overpower over him if need be.

"Nothing." He snapped, attempting at pushing her away but failing against her strength. He was weak in this body. "I might have scared her but I didn't hurt her, I wouldn't do that to you."

She nodded, believing him in his rare moment of honesty.

"I'll hire a witch, secure a means for her to keep quiet… maybe then we'll get some answers."

* * *

A few minutes after Klaus declared he would begin to search for help, he had followed her back to her house. They sneaked into her room using the open balcony and were both glad to have the place empty for the time being.

"It's Friday, so my mom should be back by four." She said, opening and slamming several drawers shut as she packed a bag filled with her clothing to take back to his mansion.

Klaus had been unusually quiet, going through his mental list of enemies that would want him in a weaker state.

_But why choose Caroline?_ He wondered to himself. There must have been a reason they chose her of all people to switch their bodies with. She might have been a baby vampire, but she was still a vampire. She still had some sort of upper hand, and he still obtained several self-defense tricks he could use in this body of need be.

If someone wanted him completely defenseless, why not put him into a human's body? Or into an animals? The irony would have probably been worth it.

He pondered the pros and cons of fleeing the town with her until they've been put back into their rightful bodies.

"You need to get dressed," Caroline piped up, trying to regain some semblance of her unwavering optimism. "I can't have myself exposed to all of Mystic Falls if you decide to take a stroll outside."

Klaus distractedly glanced back down, forgetting that he was now sporting a set of breasts and a vagina. He shuddered… but then he started thinking of the implications of that thought…

"I'm wearing your body." he smirked suddenly.

Caroline raised a brow as she turned around, walking up to him with an outfit. "Yeah. You're a little late, so if you don't mind, put this on now."

Klaus ignored the sundress and sweater in her proffered hands. "No, you don't understand," he chuckled darkly. "I'm _in_ your body." He raised a suggestive smirk as she towered over his sitting frame.

"Yeah. I know. And I'm in your– what the _hell_ are you doing?" she growled as she watched a manicured hand slowly lift toward _her_ freaking breast. "Stop that." She smacked his hand away.

Klaus smirked teasingly back as he quickly reached to grope a breast in his hand.

A shrill screech, definitely not masculine, tumbled from Caroline's mouth. Klaus glared at her, unamused by the very feminine sound tumbling out of his hybrid body.

"Don't. Seriously. Total invasion of privacy!" She hissed, forcibly thrusting the clothes into his chest.

"Says the woman who was standing naked in front of my mirror." He argued back, fighting to take off the strange straps of her negligee off. Caroline sighed, helping him tug at one of the spaghetti straps that had tangled itself in long, messy blonde hair.

"Stop moving. And close your eyes!" She snapped, making sure Klaus' eyes were closed as she undressed her own body.

This shit was seriously bizarre.

She stood Klaus before her, lifting his arms to remove the shirt completely before tugging on a bra and clasping it on the back.

"Why do you women wear this," he grumbled, uncomfortably tugging at it to better accommodate the breasts now attached to him. "It's hideously unfortunate that women think men actually _like _having more layers to peel through."

"Well it's a good thing there won't be any men trying to peel through them then." Caroline slapped his hands away from touching _her_ breasts on his body, quietly removing her sleep shorts so he was only clad in her bra and underwear.

Caroling sighed internally, wondering what this predicament would mean for her and Tyler. She definitely couldn't tell him what was going on, he'd throw a fit and probably wouldn't even want her anymore knowing her body was now being tainted by Klaus' evil essence residing in it.

She wasn't at all surprised he had opened his eyes before she was done dressing him and was now trailing his eyes down his body in the mirror on the other side of the room.

"You are gorgeous, Caroline." He muttered, twisting at his body every which way for better inspection. Caroline screeched, pinning his hands to his sides to keep from touching her goods.

"If you don't stop touching _my _breasts I swear to god, I will figure out a way to cut your freaking _dick_ off. Are we clear?" she growled, leaning down to get into his face to show how serious she was.

Klaus peeked up to watch in morbid fascination as her eyes began to glow yellow in her anger. For the first time, watching his own hybrid face change in a new perspective, it was oddly disconcerting. He nodded, forfeiting his petty games.

"I'll be the perfect gentleman from now on, you have my word." He responded seriously, minutely ashamed by his immaturity. He was no worse than his brother Kol.

"Good." She nodded, satisfied by his serious tone. She slipped the sundress onto Klaus, happy that from this perspective, she actually looked really pretty in the new dress.

She took a brush and carefully sat Klaus down in front of the vanity, nimbly combing through the snarls and knots before quickly braiding down her hair.

Jesus, if someone were to walk in right now… what a sight. They'd see Klaus the original bad boy hybrid, happily braiding a petulant cheer leader's hair.

She snorted out loud in mock amusement, the gruff raspy sound sadly reminding her of their current predicament.

She put the brush down when she finished, running her hand agitatedly through the short soft hair atop her head. "Now what?"

"Now we leave your mother a message, go back to hiding out at my house until I send word for a witch."

"Hide out at your– are you nuts? Did I not list the endless responsibilities I have? Miss Mystic Pageant and–"

"All moot now seeing as how, oh I don't know, _I'm in your body_, Caroline."

She huffed, stomping away from him to plop onto her bed with her head in her hands, "if we just vanish off the face of this earth, my friends would notice. They've already left me fifty messages 'cause I wasn't at school today. They would notice if I miss the pageant, damn it!"

They remained silent, glaring at their respective bodies from across the room. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head, and she grinned brightly. "You can do it!"

Klaus raised a brow in confusion, "I beg your pardon?"

"All you need to do is give a speech." She rambled excitedly, walking up to him with long muscled arms flailing about. "We arrive early and you can tell everyone you've passed on all responsibilities to me. Then all you have to do is announce the contestants and then the winner at the end of the night, piece of cake. Nothing your billion year old self can't handle."

Klaus glared up at her, watching as his own masculine face stared down at him and lit up with joy. His face, one that had reflected nothing but coldness and hatred for a thousand years, held the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. _Her_ eyes, set deep into_ his_ face, were now staring down at him hopefully and with more light in them than he had ever seen before.

Even in a foreign body, even in his very own emotionless body, Caroline's light shone through so brightly she could out shine the sun. It made what he was about to say that much harder.

"Fine."

* * *

**A/N: AHH! Another chapter down! Thank you everyone so much for your wonderful reviews, (all 9 of them!) they were all positive and encouraging, and of the **_**many**_** that I see have been invisibly reading it, here's a friendly message: don't be shy! We're in this together! **

**Everyone who had the courage to go along on this train wreck with me and favorite/follow/review have been a blessing! Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you. I am humbled by the many honest reviews, know that I am grateful to every one of you.**

**(I sound like I just won a stupid award or something, I'm sorry, I'm just really happy and excited with my ideas and pre-written scenes. Three cups of coffee and I'm all 'wooo'!)**

*****P.S. to: fanggirl, you're review made my heart spin. Thank you for such an honest review! I really hope I can do this story justice, and that my story would lead you out of the invisibility of reading and into a friendship with a fellow fanfiction user!**

**Hope I succeeded with this chapter, you guys. Leave me your comments and suggestions, please :)**

**Your friend,**

**-Kathy**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello again, my lovelies.** **I'm sorry to say, but this is filler chapter. But trust me… it's a very, very, very important one. I'm about to open the door to a Pandora's Box full of problems with the few clues I've got set out here. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. Never have, never will.**

**P.S. I apologize for any spelling errors, there aren't many I promise, but sometimes not even I can catch them all.**

* * *

**Change**

"_Then it kicks your head in._

_Just give him one more chance, _

_Try to see the beauty in his world._

…

_So set him up,_

_Then let him fall._

_Turn him over in your hands._

_God save the King of New Orleans."_

–_King of New Orleans by Better Than Ezra_

**Chapter Three**

* * *

_June 1705, Louisiana_

Slowly stepping down from the short platform of his newly acquired combustion engine automobile, Klaus turned to take in the long dark dirt roads leading up to several tightly packed wooden buildings, each one taller than the last. Billows of smoke puffing out of the crooked chimneys created a veil of dark fog among the land.

The harmony of a swarm of crickets ran loudly so late at night. Fireflies danced in the air, swirling and twirling in pairs of two. To his right was a wide channel of stagnant water, just one of many vast bayous, rotten with dead fish and gators created a stench so thick he had to lift his expensively clothed arm to mask the odor.

"What in the heavens have we stopped _here_ for, Nik?" Rebekah Mikaelson, Klaus' longtime companion and favorite baby sister, whined as she tucked a dainty silk handkerchief beneath her upturned nose. The smell of rotting fish, manure, and dirty swamp water swirled around her from her seat in the convertible.

Klaus ignored her, unwilling to reveal his true intent for visiting the unmarked village in the semi-prospering region of southwestern New France.

His brother Elijah, whom was still packing up their manor in Paris, had recently sent word to him that a newly thriving group of witches had planted roots in this small remote area. One of whom, would be of interest to him.

"All in due time, dear sister. All in due time." He smirked, getting back in behind the wheel again and setting forth into the bustling village. A helper sat behind them, wordlessly refilling the mobile's fuel engine every so often.

People, skin colors raging from the blackest of night to the palest of creams, stopped their everyday duties to gaze upon the wonder that was his new toy.

The 'automobile,' as its creator had deemed it, was still a prototype. It had only been designed and made two years earlier, and was one of seven in this country. It won't come into production for another two years, and being a man of riches and… certain compelling powers, he _had_ to have it. The automobile, this _automobile_, is one of the quickest and easiest of ways to flash outsiders his family's wealth and power in a new place.

And from the various looks and stares of intrigue, respect, and envy, it was working.

"Will we be here long?" Rebekah asked after a long silence. She turned her body to stare behind them curiously, a small smile upon her face, as a group of young sweaty boys ran behind their mobile, making a game of chase against the foreign machine.

"That depends…" he mused. Rebekah chose to remain silent at his side, she knew her brother wouldn't answer any more inquiries and had already pressed her luck with his less than forthcoming answers.

He had slowed the mobile down to better take in the eclectic culture. Every corner they turned, small pubs spilled out people of all shapes, ages, and sizes. Men and women danced and sang and smiled in camaraderie to the fast paced tunes of bands lining the streets sidewalks, filling the air with a type of music they had never heard before.

Tall street lanterns were lit at all corners of the roads, setting the town alight from the inside. Women greeted each other, shouting through open windows of second story flats as they leaned over small balconies so their voices could carry above the music and laughter of the streets below them.

The automobile was idling on the path as Klaus allowed several villagers to cross the lane. An aging, wrinkled, old woman carrying a basket of flowers walked past them, generously gifting Rebekah with a blooming white magnolia rose.

"Such interesting people."

"We're here." Klaus said suddenly, parking the car off to the side of the lone building, leaving the compelled helper to take care of shutting the engine down.

"Where _exactly_ is… here?" Rebekah asked in distaste as she looked up at the rickety white structure. It seemed to be a tavern, like many of the others that were lined up on the street behind them. However, this one was different. They could both feel the difference in the air surrounding the darkened building. People didn't gravitate to this bar the same way they did to the rest.

Power. Magic. The place was reeking of witches.

"A witch? We're here to see a witch?" Rebekah exclaimed, exasperated. "Really Nik? Of all the witches we have at our beck and call everywhere else and you bring us to some no-name town to see a witch?"

Klaus smirked, ignoring her to turn around and gaze upon the lively festivities the townspeople were immersed in.

"Stay here, sweetheart." Klaus replied, steering her toward the idling car. "Keep Joseph company, I'll only be a few minutes."

He ignored her protests and walked back to the building, hands in the pockets of his trousers as he sauntered right into the place.

Like all taverns he usually frequented, it was dimly lit and sketchy. Dirt kicked up after every step his boots made contact with on the creaky wooden floorboards.

To his surprise, there were several occupants in the inn. Men and women sat around in a loose semicircle as one woman spoke in hushed tones, telling a tale of a cruel beast who couldn't accept the beauty and light in his life until a young woman was brought into it.

He smirked at the irony of a cruel beast, imagining himself in the character's place, as he leaned against a far wall shrouding himself in darkness as he silently listened to the young witch entertain the attention of several inebriated guests.

"…Belle was horrified to discover that the Beast was lying half-dead from heartbreak near the rose bushes and she immediately returned to the Beast. Upon returning, Belle found the Beast almost dead, and she wept over him, begging him to hear her desperate declarations of love. When her tears struck him, the Beast was transformed into the handsome prince from Belle's dreams. The Prince informed her that long ago a fairy had turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by finding true love, despite his ugliness, could the curse be broken."

As the witch finished her tale, the women in the room wiped their eyes at the happy ending whereas the men rolled theirs.

Klaus watched in amusement as the guests handed the witch several coins, a repayment for her story. As the room emptied out and the guests went back to their quarters, he revealed himself.

"A very fine fairytale you've created, witch."

The witch stood up, expectantly staring at Klaus from across the room. She smiled at his quip, as if she had a secret only she was in on. Wordlessly, she walked toward a curtain, pulling him back and beckoning him inside.

The small room was dimly lit and, unlike the main room, impeccably clean. Grimoires, thick and thin, lined up wooden shelves on all sides of the walls. In the center, a short round table with a several flickering candles lit, hot wax drizzling down and pooling among the wood.

"I knew you'd be here today. What can I do for you, vampire?" She asked gravely, her small eyes wiser than her youthful appearance showed.

Klaus dropped the pretense, rushing toward her and yanking her up by the hair. She yelped, clawing at his arm as he dragged her up against the spines of her books. "Tell me, Gabrielle, do you like this town?"

"Oui, monsieur Klaus." She gritted, trying her hardest to tap into her magic to get inside his head and make his brain bleed like her sisters had tried to show her. Her powers however, were still limited to palm reading and first rate healing spells.

"And you know I can make it _rain_ blood and gore if you do not keep this visit and anything said in this room under wraps?" He snapped, glaring at her fiercely. She nodded, her eyes dared him to lash out but her body language betrayed her. She was nervous.

"Good." dropping her onto the floor where she fell into a heap, rubbing at her sore scalp where his fists had pulled at.

"Yours sisters knew I was coming yet they are away. It's just you here running the tavern and to greet my arrival. I presume it's because they care more for their own hides than yours?" He deduced, reasserting his calm façade as he uninterestedly inspected a shelf lined with several smelly herbs, small bones, and colorful stones.

Elijah had told him that Gabrielle was a young psychic, but right now she was the best and after two hundred years of searching, waiting, killing, and plotting, he _needed_ the best.

Word has spread in quiet whispers of the young woman who could clearly see a man's fate and the turning point of their lives. Elijah had advised him to pay her a visit.

He silently hoped maybe she could shed light on the whereabouts of his father, the intrepid doppelganger bitch Katerina, or a way to _finally_ release his wolf side.

Gabrielle remained silent, taking her seat at the table in front of her. "I am new, but I am _not_ worthless. I know my fate already, as I know yours. Now sit." She pressed, ignoring the lingering threat his words held in the air. Klaus decided to humor her, not in the mood to play and get blood on the new clothes his sister had presented him with.

The glow of the candles eerily lit up her doughy face and wordlessly, she took his outstretched hand in hers, bowing over it as she kept her other firmly placed on an open grimoire next to her.

"If you know my fate already, why the theatrics?" He smirked, shifting on the small uncomfortable stool.

She ignored his taunt or even gave any sign that she had heard him. Instead, she clutched his hand tighter in her grip, murmuring quiet words to herself as she sorted though whatever she saw in his future. Finally, after the candles flared up and died down back to normal, she opened her eyes with a gasp and a stifled laugh. She looked at him then, clicking her tongue as mirth danced behind her dark eyes.

Klaus stared at her with a raised expectant brow, his lips thinning as he prepared himself for whatever the prophetic witch was about to tell him.

"What savage sense of humor the fates have placed upon your shoulders, Niklaus Mikaelson."

* * *

_Present day, Mystic Falls_

"Klaus? Klaus, are you even _listening_ to me?" Caroline snapped as she lifted her arm to peek up at him.

Klaus paced his living room floors as his mind swirled with a memory he had long ago forgotten. He had buried the memory of Gabrielle's prophecy from his mind so deeply and he could barely remember the details anymore.

He needed to contact a witch as soon as possible, preferably one of Gabrielle's descendants. But it was his brother who was on good terms with many of the New Orleans witches.

He sighed, craned his neck back and attempted to smooth out the kinks. For a vampire, Caroline had very tense shoulders. Pivoting quickly, he turned to acknowledge her, strewn on his couch, chewing on _his_ thumbnail compulsively as she rambled on about every nonsensical worry that came to her erratic mind.

"Yes, Caroline, I'm listening. Please." He waved his hand for her to continue, dropping down onto a chair. He spread his legs out, letting the airy dress Caroline dressed him in open and pool around his waist.

He should have worn jeans, he felt bloody _ridiculous_.

"Okay. As I was _saying_," she rolled her eyes, covering them again with an arm, "I hope my mom will understand. I mean, how hard can it be to believe that your daughter's woken up in a _man's_ body? Am I right? I mean, she'll understand, right? She will, she'll understand! She's an understanding person. _I'm_ an understanding person! I get it from her! But my friends… and Tyler!" she gasped, sitting up suddenly. Long legs kicked out and hitting the coffee table, toppling a small statue over where it landed on the floor with a thud. "Oops…" she winced, quickly picking up the artwork before it could roll away. She wasn't yet used to the lanky limbs she was now sporting.

When she had gone through puberty, it had taken her about three years to finally get accustomed to the wide hips and breasts she began to form. It took her forever to stop bumping into every wall and chair in her house from the new body shape she had seemingly grown overnight.

Now… _literally_ _overnight_ she wakes up in a completely new body. And to be honest. Long male arms and legs are a lot harder to maneuver than she realized.

"Caroline, for the love of– just calm down–"

"What are you doing?" she screeched, jumping back up and rushing over to him where he sat sunken into his seat. _Her legs_… her long, thin, muscular cheerleader, very _female_ legs, were spread wide open with her entire freaking promised land on display! "Cross your freaking legs, dude! You're a woman now. You're _me_ now. You have to freaking act like it!"

"Oh, _yes_, love, because laying on the couch crying and whining about our predicament is so manly," he snapped back, gesturing at her stuck inside his body. "You have to sit, and think, and until then, man up until a plan has formed."

She gaped at him, miffed that he practically demanded she shut up. She rolled her eyes, angrily slapping the sides of his knees to shut them so the whole world didn't have to see the white lace bikini underwear he was now sporting.

"I'm serious. You have to at least _try_ to be well mannered. I am Miss Mystic Falls, damn it! I can't be seen sitting around like, l-l-like some greasy truck driver!" she shrilled, though her shrieking fell limp coming from a raspy baritone voice.

As Caroline turned back around to sit down, Klaus childishly slumped back in his seat, comfortably spreading his legs open again. His closed his eyes as he fought against the need to wring her pretty little neck for trying to tell him what to do.

"What are we even doing? We're sitting here _bickering_, we should be making a game plan! I need my body back."

Klaus kept his eyes closed, breathing evenly as he fought for something to respond with.

To be honest, this detriment had actually grown to be more of a benefit than anything else. Caroline was with him, not running away, not pointing her manicured fingers at him in anger, and most importantly _not_ deceiving him for his useless hybrid's ploys.

Since their realization earlier that morning, today has been the longest time he's ever spent with her. Now she would be sleeping in his home indefinitely. The door he has left open countless times for her to get to know him is now wide open with no real way of closing any time soon.

He brought his arms behind his head, shifting comfortably as he waited for an answer to come to him.

"I'm a greasy truck driver..." Caroline whimpered, he peeked open an eye to find her watching him and his gauche position in resignation.

"Caroline, love, why don't you distract yourself and make some tea. Your mother should be here soon and she will need something to relax herself with after the news she will be hearing." He supplied kindly, knowing that being kept busy would keep her from fretting… and from feeding his ghost of a migraine.

"Tea! Yes! Okay! I'll go make tea! And I'll bring out the cookies, and cute little sugar cubes, and tea cups, and spoons. It'll be like the tea party I never had as a kid! Okay! Yes, I'll be right on that!" she piped up optimistically, grinning brightly as she scurried off the couch and barreled towards the kitchen on the far side of his mansion.

Klaus shook his head in amusement. She was such a baby vampire. Now that she has a project to distract herself with he could think clearly without her worrying prattle.

* * *

_June 1705, Louisiana_

"What do you mean by that?" Klaus growled, ripping his hand away from Gabrielle's. Her eyes widened as the revealing statement tumbled from her lips before she had realized.

She stared up at Klaus, thoughtfully looking him over. He tensed, ill-prepared for whatever it is she was about to drop on him. "I can't say much." She sighed, shaking her head. "If I tell you what's to come, you will try to avoid it."

Klaus' eye twitched as he attempted at containing his impatience. He could feel his dormant wolf side clawing against him as his irrational anger reared its ugly head.

Everything was silent for a beat before he lunged over the small table, knocking it over into the bookshelf to his left.

A loud crash as a lower shelf collapsed and small glass jars fell and shattered against the floor echoed around the small room. He tightened his grip around Gabrielle's neck, shaking her so her head and shoulders would bob back and forth at dangerous angles.

"Tell me!" he roared, fearing the worst of his future and what was to come.

"L-l-light." She mewled, pawing at his unrelenting grip against her windpipe.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled, releasing her so she could speak. She fell onto her back with a thud, landing on fallen books.

She coughed and sputtered, chanting a soft spell under her breath to heal her bruised and swollen neck.

"I don't know! And if I did I wouldn't be able to tell you much without messing everything up." She snapped finally, before getting up and fixing the upturned table and stools.

"All I know is your father _will_ be killed, you _will_ unlock the curse, and then… I don't know. Light! That's all I'm getting. You'll have light, or you'll see light, or you'll feel light. _Je ne sais pas_." She responded calmly, as she spoke with her hands wringing worriedly on her lap as she tried telling him was she could from what she saw before he wrung her neck again.

"What do you mean you don't know?" He snapped. "You're supposed to know. It's your job, isn't it? You're one of the only psychics around!"

"Things will change for you within the next few centuries. _Something_ more magical than any witch can imagine, has made it their plan to attempt at fixing the unfixable. Don't ask me why, because I _do_ _not_ _know_." She sighed, "It will happen, and it will be unexplainable. Just know that when the time comes, you'll need the help and guidance of a witch. Planning and plotting deaths will not help you. Only you and the light will help you. That is all I can tell you. That is all I know, monsieur Klaus." She sighed, pointing him to door as she watched him sadly.

Klaus tensed angrily as her parting words rang in his ears. He scoffed, as he reached the humid air of the outside world.

As he wordlessly got back into his automobile, and Rebekah began prattling and barking about what had taken him so long, his mind returned to her idiotic tale of a beast who couldn't accept beauty and light into his life.

"_You'll have light_." She had said. He cussed lowly to himself, ignoring his sister and already regretting heeding Elijah's advice on meeting with a psychic. Psychics were fools. They were barely witches. He never should have let her fill his head with what he wanted to hear.

Mikael will eventually die (_thank Heavens_), his curse will be lifted, (_about bloody time_). And then… light (_whatever that meant_).

He gutted the engine and roared their car to their house at the top of the hill overlooking the entire village.

Gears grinded in his mind as his thoughts turned as mechanical as the machine he was driving.

She had said he would need help from a witch, he presumed she meant from her line… he would make sure her line prospers then.

He was too resourceful a man to disregard the ramblings of another supernatural creature.

His curiosity and worry over his future and whatever she had seen spurred his next decision.

"Rebekah." He said finally, parking the mobile in front of a large plantation home. "How do you feel in creating a city?"

"What?" Rebekah asked blankly, confused by his sudden thoughtful expression.

Klaus looked down at the dimply lit town, the soft sounds of music, dancing, and singing faintly reaching his ears. "It might take a while… A place where witches, and vampires, and even werewolves can roam free," he said, still thinking out loud. "We can even name it after that French city you fancied during our stay in Paris, what was it called? Orléans? _New_ _Orléans_…"

* * *

Klaus snapped his eyes open, flashed to the front door and opened it before Sheriff Forbes even had a chance to lift her hand and knock.

"Caroline, honey, I was so worried." Liz sighed in relief and rushed at him before he could protest. She gathered him in her arms, holding her as tightly a mother would an only child.

He stiffened, momentarily fearing a stake would be plunged into his back while caught off guard by the blonde woman.

He tried to relax once again in her hold. He cleared his throat, but didn't bother in correcting her assumption. He preferred to have his sweet Caroline in the room to break the news to her mother.

Klaus awkwardly patted Liz on the shoulder, unable to return the hug without feeling like a dolt.

"Please, come in." he muttered, uncharacteristically feeling out of sorts as Liz squeezed his hand tightly in her attempt at comfort.

She gave him a radiant smile, presumably out of her relief to find her daughter, well, her daughter's _body_, unscathed.

Klaus stared back stunned as the rare smile lit up the officer's face, Caroline's beautiful smiles undoubtedly came from her mother. They were practically twins with that blinding smile.

He sat her down on the couch Caroline had previously been occupying, shifting back to sit on the far side of the room. She looked at him in confusion, but he cleared his throat, ignoring her and going back to staring into the fire.

"Caroline, what's going–"

"There aren't any more cookies, so you can just share with me." Caroline hollered as she walked down the hall towards them.

Liz startled in her seat, standing up with a hand twitching wildly toward her gun as she stood to face Caroline in his body.

"Mom!" Caroline grinned, quickly dropping the tray of tea and cookies on a nearby coffee table. She hesitated halfway as they watched Liz cringe in fear at the sight of Klaus rushing at her.

"Oh shit." Caroline muttered, "I forgot." She sped over to stand next to Klaus, who was already standing tensed by the fireplace.

"What's going on here?" Liz demanded, frantically looking between her daughter and the world's most powerful being standing side by side in quiet companionship.

Klaus cleared his throat to begin his blunt explanation, but Caroline beat him to it.

"Maybe it's better if you sit down…"

* * *

**A/N: Well guys, I hope you enjoyed this brief explanation of history! It was more of a serious filler chapter. We're going to have a few new characters, (I'll give a cyber-hug to anyone who guesses correctly) though I'm sure you all have an inkling as to will be coming in soon. It's pretty obvious.**

**I really think you're all gonna like the blueprints I've got going on here.**

**Expect great surprises, new friends, and lots of kinky internal monologue. Because next chapter's a doozy!**

**Your friend,**

**Kathy (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. I am only one person, I easily miss many things.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Change**

_"Shattered windows and the sound of drums_  
_People couldn't believe what I'd become..._  
_Revolutionaries wait_  
_For my head on a silver plate_  
_Just a puppet on a lonely string_  
_Oh, who would ever wanna be king?_

_-Viva La Vida by Coldplay_

**Chapter Four**

Liz Forbes never claimed to be the perfect mother. She may have been absent for a few things in her daughter's life such as piano and dance recitals. Choir performances. A small role as the 'ghost of Christmas present' in a fifth grade class performance of "A Christmas Carol." Her first period. Her first place win at a state county spelling bee. First boyfriend. First kiss. First win at an out of town cheer performance. And she _had_ profusely apologized for that one birthday back in 2004—

Okay, sure.

She had missed _many_ of her daughter's milestones because of work and duties to the Mystic Falls community.

But Mystic Falls _was_ her duty, she just never realized that Caroline grew up to think the town was Liz's _only_ duty.

She never claimed to be a perfect mother, she's just now trying her best at attempting to be. It took her daughter turning into a vampire, for Liz to step up her game in the mothering department.

One thing Liz Forbes didn't lack, one thing her job couldn't take away, was her love and trust for her daughter. Since becoming a vampire, Caroline had done a complete 180 with her. She stopped sneaking out, her grades improved drastically, and to Liz' great disbelief and happiness, she began to open up to her.

Which is why upon coming home, she was confused to find her home empty; a pink Post-It note on the fridge read: "_Mom, go to Klaus' place ASAP! __**Important**__! –Caroline_"

Now, as she stepped out of her cruiser and walked up to the large double doors of the Mikaelson mansion, she began to doubt her trust in her daughter's ability to keep safe. Wringing her hands together in worry, several thoughts of Caroline in trouble, hurt, or compelled flitted through her anxious mind.

She sighed in relief though as the door swung open before she could knock. "Caroline, honey, I was so worried." She sighed, enveloping Caroline in her arms, holding her tightly as a rush of relief eased her tense shoulders.

"Please, come in," she muttered, uncharacteristically mute in her usually bright demeanor. Liz took her daughter's hand in hers and offered a smile in a silent offer of comfort for whatever they were about to face in their enemy's home.

She quirked a brow, confused by Caroline's quiet and stiff manner. As she was led toward a dark leather couch, she sunk into the cushions waiting in impatient confusion as Caroline cleared her throat loudly, ignoring Liz as she turned to stare into a large fireplace without further comment.

Caroline hated long silences. Why on earth was she so quiet now? Her mind took a turn for the worst as she imagined the trouble her daughter must be in to actually, for once, be as serious and unmoving as she was now.

"Caroline, what's going–"

"You ran out of cookies, so you can just share with me!" A gruff male voice called through a corridor towards them.

Liz jumped out of her seat, ready to aim and fire wooden bullets toward Klaus in case he was about to get the jump on them.

He entered the living room carrying a tray of cups and a tea kettle.

"Mom!" Klaus grinned, eyes shining eerily bright as he dropped the tray at the coffee table at the end of the room. The word spilling out of his mouth barely registered as all she saw was him briskly charging toward her. She touched her gun on her hip, a clear warning that she will shoot if he came any closer, and although it wouldn't hurt him, she would feel ultimately better in knowing that she has some upper hand against him.

Klaus came to a halt immediately in his advance.

"Oh shit," he muttered, "I forgot." Liz stared back blankly, many years on the force had toughened her up enough to not reveal any sort of emotion to a foe. She watched Klaus stand at attention next to Caroline, whom was still, oddly enough, tense and brooding by the firelight.

"What's going on here?" Liz demanded, eyes flickering between her daughter and the man the entire town has been running from in fear.

Klaus was wringing his hands in obvious nerves as he shuffled from foot to foot, opening and closing his mouth in search for words. Her eyes stayed on Caroline though, still as a statue as she swirled a crystal glass of amber liquid in her hand.

If Liz didn't think something was wrong before, she did now as Caroline cleared her throat for the second time in only three minutes, only to be cut off by Klaus.

"Maybe it's better if you sit down…" Klaus hesitated, slouching his shoulders as he steered Liz back to the couches.

Liz wrenched out of his hold quick enough to see the crestfallen look on Klaus' face. "I don't think so."

She turned to face Caroline. "What was the emergency, Caroline?" she demanded, her no nonsense tone had worked on her daughter for years.

"I'm not your daughter, love." Caroline practically growled as she chugged down on her glass.

Liz stared back in disbelief at her daughter's tone with her, "like hell, you're not, young la–"

"_I'm_ Caroline!" Klaus said loudly, stopping Liz from further advancing onto Caroline.

Everything was silent in the room for precisely three seconds before Liz had enough sense of humor to scrunch her forehead and chuckle at the prank. Klaus watched her in mild shock as Caroline looked down her nose at her in amusement, Liz chuckled a little louder, removing her hand from her gun all together.

"Okay. No, really. Sweetie," Liz addressed Caroline once more. "Tonight is my only night off for the rest of the week. I don't have time for any jokes, let's go home," she walked forward to tug on Caroline's arm.

"Mom." Klaus said gravely, "We're telling the truth. He's not Caroline and I'm not Klaus. _I'm_ Caroline."

* * *

Liz sat stoically on the overstuffed couch, its dark brown cushions sucking her in and suffocating her further as she watched in detachment as Klaus and Caroline bickered at vampire speed, words blurring around the room too fast and high pitched for her human ears to detect.

Her daughter's little dropped bomb was too ludicrous to be possible.

But…but then she began to take notice of the mannerisms between the two.

Klaus' foot was quickly tapping against the hardwood in impatience. A clenched hand was placed on a jutted out hip as the other waved empathically in the air as he spoke in rapid, animated speed.

Caroline, her usually energetic daughter no matter what the circumstance, stood before Klaus a foot shorter but her demeanor could have made even the biggest of men cower. Her mostly open expressions were closed off, darkened in mystery and aggravation as she glared up at Klaus with a dark and ominous glint in her eye. Her lips, always wide and spread into a carefree smile, was tight and pursed, hissing out words in defense to Klaus' onslaught.

If she didn't believe it before, she believed it now. They were telling the truth.

"I believe you." Liz said and suddenly the high frequency buzzing of their ultrasonic chatter came to a halt, silencing the room in a suffocating quiet.

Liz looked up at Klaus, now completely sure in her deduction as she watched Klaus— her daughter— slacken and brighten in happiness and relief.

The light surrounding Caroline was so bright, it was almost shameful she hasn't realized it sooner. That, and the fact that Caroline's face held an unfamiliar shade of green eyes, and Klaus' face stared back with the same baby blues her daughter was born with.

She glared at Klaus— stuck in her daughter' body for some unfathomable reason. "How did this happen?" She demanded.

Klaus rolled his eyes, reaching again for his discarded glass of liquor. "We don't know." He snapped.

Caroline inched forward, unsure in her movements until Liz nodded her go-ahead. Watching her daughter in a man's body, Klaus's body (of all the damn bodies, it had to be _his?_), was disconcerting and a little frightening to say the least.

She almost couldn't completely relax as Caroline's hand touched her upper arm in a small act of comfort. "It's okay, mom, we're trying to figure it out. That's why we called you here. We need your help in making a cover up."

"What do you need a cover story for?"

"We might have to do a little traveling to get rid of this... inconvenience." Klaus muttered, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling as he cracked his neck. "New Orleans is home to the most powerful witches in this world, currently. Caroline and I need an alibi as we search for someone to help us."

Caroline stayed silent, momentarily lighting up to the fact that she could see a small part of the world around her, even if it was through untimely circumstances.

"No one can know." She whispered as she clutched onto her mom's hand like a frightened child would. "If someone finds out Klaus is in my weaker body, try won't hesitate to kill him."

"And if they kill him, they're killing you." Liz assumed, more worried for her daughter than the man that's been the pain in her town's ass for almost two years.

"We'll leave after the pageant." Caroline said, sighing as she got up from her perch on the arm rest of the couch to go and pace in front of Klaus. "I'm Miss Mystic Falls, if I don't show up then everyone will know something's up."

"I'll start putting in word around that you're going to visit some family across the country after the pageant tomorrow." Liz said, also getting up to take her leave. "I'm not sure what your story will be." She nodded at Klaus.

He waved his hand distractedly. "Don't worry about that. It's covered."

Liz nodded, searching her daughter's expressful eyes. "And you're staying here I'm guessing?"

Caroline groaned, nodding her head. Her bags were packed to the brim in preparation to the imminent trip she and Klaus were about to make.

"Don't worry, mom." Caroline squared her shoulders pulling a brave face straight out of her ass. "We'll figure this out."

* * *

"We're never gonna figure this out." Caroline groaned as she reentered Klaus' room with two mugs of coffee. She had been completely useless today in anything other than bringing them drinks and talking into the phone under Klaus' direction.

The devil, speaking of him, had earlier dismissed all of his hybrids for both of their own safeties until they were back into their own proper bodies.

He was currently filing through another ancient looking rolodex he had drudged up from his basement. For the past hour he had been digging up several contacts of his that were connected or had some relation with witches in the South. Sadly though, the unhelpful "friends" of his would either hang up upon hearing Klaus' voice or deny any acquaintanceship with a witch from "_that_ _place_."

Caroline tried her best at making his scary brusque voice as kind and soft as possible, but no one would give any secrets away on the whereabouts of any of the few living descendants of the original line of New Orleans prophetic witches.

"So help me God, Randolph, I will go to over there to Russia, and I will—"

"Stop calling me, woman! I want nothing to do with this!" the voice snapped through the other line. Klaus looked at the phone in shock, completely forgetting he didn't have his fear eliciting vocals anymore and he had been threatening someone with Caroline's very _nonthreatening_ voice.

As he received another dial tone, he smashed the phone into its holder, plastic flaying into the air as the telephone cracked and broke. The ominous dial tone strung out into a long beep, further aggravating Klaus into throwing the rest of the phone into the wall.

"Calm down, crazy!" Caroline shouted, catching the phone and its wires before it could be further damaged.

Klaus fell back into his large chair, frustrated by the lack of answers his contacts were giving him. He always left witchy business to his brothers Kol and Elijah, both of whom were currently MIA and will probably be unwilling to help him with anything anyways.

"Why can't we just wait until we get there and sniff them out? It can't be that hard to find a couple witches in Louisiana, right?"

He rolled his eyes at her never ending ignorance when it comes to the supernatural world. He sighed, sitting up and beckoning her over. "Come here, love, there's a few things we need to discuss."

Once again, she picked up the mugs of cooling coffee she had made as another quick distraction from the newly never-ending list of tension in her immortal life:

1. Her neck was cold, unaccustomed to not having long hair to cover up the oddly sensitive area.

2. She had a penis.

3. Klaus' Henley was soft, and it smelled incredibly good… like musk, a warm rainy day, and a subtle hint of lemon, (_she's a vampire. She can't help but notice, shut up_)... and that in itself was worrying.

4. The curly blonde hair under her arm pits made her itchy and uncomfortable.

5. The short nails on her fingers were gnawed on to the point she was eating the flesh around them, and it was beginning to tingle.

6. …she a fucking penis.

7. See numbers 2 and 6.

Leaping up to sit on the old resolute desk, she crossed her legs, willing to find a comfortable position for the new friends between her legs. She finally, _finally_, understood why guys had to sit with their legs open all the time, the three new buddies in her pants were so unbelievably distracting— and not in the good way most women would hope for.

Klaus spun his chair to face her and reached for the mug only to have Caroline retract it from his reach before he could make a grab for it.

"You're _welcome_," she said pointedly, eyeing the coffee and his hand with a raised brow.

He frowned in confusion but then quickly smiled, a confusing mix of charmed and annoyed at her childish mannerisms.

"Thank you, love," he sung teasingly, finally taking a sip of the coffee, pleasantly surprised to find that she had spiked it with blood.

"We can't go to New Orleans and just 'hope' that we will run into the witches because there are many things that could render that impossible." He began, sighing as he set down his mug on the desk next to hers.

"Such as?"

"When I created New Orleans, I did it so that all supernatural beings could have their own sanctuary, their own place to call their own. Within the city, there are _alternate_ cities... Scattered around every corner there are… I assume the modern term is 'hot spots.' If you stand in just the right position, you're transported to a completely different reality. Do you see where I'm getting at, love? Do you understand how difficult it will be to locate just one line of witches without any help from my seemingly unswaying contacts?"

Caroline's eyes widened, taking that tidbit of historical information in small bites. Her hands clenched on either side of her onto the dark wood of the desk as she leaned forward, each foot planted on the floor on either side of Klaus'. He sat before her with his story-telling green eyes alight with the chance to brag about his never ending rule and power on their planet.

"You're telling me that there are different _realms_ inside of that city?"

"Yes."

She laughed in nervous hysteria at his utter insanity. "Different realms? Inside of New Orleans? And _you_ created them?" this was just too fresh.

Klaus sighed in agitation. He knew she would be difficult about all this. "I didn't _create_ them love. Yes, I built New Orleans from the ground up to the same prospering city it is now... However, under my instruction, the witches had a hand in creating the different quarters within the city. If there are any descendants from the same line that I met over three hundred years ago then they will be living inside one of those quarters."

"Okay, so you knew where they are. Why go through the trouble of all this?" she gestured to the millions of scattered files and dusty rolodexes littering the floors and his desk. they had wasted hours getting nowhere and all this time he knew where the witches they are looking for were?

"Caroline. There are over _four hundred_ alternate realities scattered around that city. We don't have, nor do we _want_ to have, the time to search all of them. As beautiful as you are, I'd much prefer to be in my body immediately, thank you."

Caroline squinted her eyes at him, judging his honesty over the serious matter at hand. She liked to think she was open minded, but to hear that there were different realities, different worlds, inside of one tiny insignificant city, it was too much to handle.

He might have been getting a little too outlandish for her taste. Not even Doctor Who could prepare her to believe this crazy man's statement that there were hundreds of New Orleans'_ inside_ the _real_ New Orleans...

New Orleans, as she had grown up knowing, was a city more famous for their annual Mardi Gras than the beautiful culture thriving within.

Her mom, being a cop, forced her to watch hours of those televised police footage on the craziness that happens behind the scenes every year at such a popular festival like Mardi Gras. She never really felt the urge to go and experience it for herself after witnessing the crazy that was such a festival, drunken teenagers and half naked women completely butchered the beauty that she had admired from travel books and online websites.

But the so called realms in it? What were those like? How did they differ? What did they look like? What was the real city like on a normal day without drunk tourists messing up the place?

Klaus had her curiosity and wanderlust peaking without even realizing it.

But… four hundred freaking worlds inside of it? She wasn't sure if she was more nervous about potentially going there, or excited to be leaving Mystic Falls for a short while. (Granted it would be with _him_, but she can overlook that minor detail. Tyler would understand.)

No. Tyler won't understand. Trapped inside the enemy body, Tyler would want her to figure out her problems within the safety and comfort of her home town, under his protection. Tyler's her boyfriend, he should know what's going on.

She made a mental note to turn on her cell phone and get back to the millions of messages her friends have left her throughout the day.

"Why can't we just tell Bonnie? _She's_ a witch, we don't have to go through all the trouble of going through different realms, that's crazy!"

Klaus rolled his eyes for the hundredth time. Without the pretty face to look at, Caroline was just as agitating and aggravating as his shallow sister. "We need to find _these_ witches because they're the ones who _told_ me this was going to happen."

And just like that, all of Caroline's previous doubts on bringing Tyler into this situation vanished. Klaus was completely psychotic, and she needed to keep him away from her friends.

"You knew this was going to happen and you didn't do anything?!" she yelled, jumping up to her feet in anger to stare down at him.

"It was almost four hundred years ago, Caroline! Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot's idiotic prophecy wasn't exactly something I spent many nights memorizing." He snapped, standing toe to toe with her, shooting each other heated glares.

"Gabrielle-Suzanne?" Caroline muttered, confused, trying to grasp where she had heard that name before. She gasped, then narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Are you telling me that the freaking _author_ of Beauty and The Beast is the freaking witch we're looking for!? You do know she died unmarried and without children before the 18th century right? She has no descendants, Klaus! This whole thing is just a dead end and we're wasting our time here," she threw her arms out, pointing to his mess of papers in the room.

Klaus' lips pulled up in a ghost of a wistful smile. Just like that, Caroline was no longer just a pretty cheer leader, and he was reminded why he was so smitten over this child. The brains he knew she had were finally showing and out stepped the intelligent woman she stupidly tried to hide to the rest of the world.

"Gabrielle wasn't the one who put this—" he searched for a word as he gestured between their bodies, "_curse_ onto us. She was a mere psychic, one whom was out of touch with any magic. It's her friends, her brothers and sisters, the people she had surrounded herself with in the 1700s, it's _their_ descendants we need to find. They're line is the only of prophetic witches left in this world, the only ones whom can tell us exactly what we need to know to get back into our own bodies. I know they're still somewhere holed up in my city."

"If they're prophetic, then that means they can see the future. Wouldn't they know that this has happened and we're trying to look for them? I don't see them calling us up to lend a helping hand, Klaus." She stated pointedly, picking up their empty mugs to take to the kitchen.

Klaus nodded, following close behind her as she walked through his mansion with the same familiarity a blind man would have at a shopping mall.

"I know that, love. Why do you think I'm going through all this bloody trouble?" he argued, distractedly swapping away at the long blonde hair flopping into his eyes.

"Fine. I'll just keep calling then." She conceded with a resigned sigh. Frustratingly, she harshly scrubbed away at the coffee stains on the white porcelain of their mugs.

Why did this have to happen to her? So close to graduation, so close to the start of her life. The universe had it out to get her from the moment she died and transitioned as a vampire. Why did things have to be so damn difficult?

Klaus sighed, grabbing the sparkling clean mug from her hands before she shattered it. "Relax, love. We'll fix this." He crooned. Just as easily as they fought like cats and dogs, they relented and reassured each other with soft smiles.

They'll get through this. His dimples relaxed her, and for the moment she forgot about all the terror he had caused in her life and her friend's lives as his eyes openly stared into hers. His little smile and five whispered words reassured her faster than any soliloquy Tyler could ever had said to her.

Her neurotic, scatterbrained, mind relaxed as she watched him attempt at putting the mugs back into their places in the pantry, only to find he could no longer reach the highest shelf where they're supposed to go.

Caroline giggled, taking the mugs from his hands and easily placing them on the highest shelf.

"We better fix this _soon_." He muttered, glaring at the tall shelf as if it had personally offended him.

She laughed, watching him stomp back to his study.

Yeah.

They'll get through this.

* * *

As Caroline was emptying out her packed bag in her assigned guest room, searching for her cell phone, the land line rang.

"Caroline, would you get that?" Klaus called out from the first floor. She walked up to the telephone and answered.

"Mikaelson residence?" She muttered, unsure as how Klaus usually greeted people that called him.

"_Brother! I am currently en route to the infamous Mystic Falls. Fancy a visit from your favorite sibling?_" a devious voice crooned from the other side of the line.

Upon hearing the voice on the other line, Klaus zoomed upstairs quickly standing behind Caroline as she looked at the phone cautiously. It wasn't a voice she recognized, so that means it wasn't Elijah on the other line. It definitely wasn't Finn, considering he was dead. That left only one other original brother…

"Uh… Kol?" Caroline deduced nervously.

"_No. The Easter bunny! Bloody idiot,_" he muttered, Klaus growled lowly behind her in agitation._ "I see hybridism has done nothing for that pea brain of yours. Anyways, I'm only a day's travel away. Keep the townsfolk entertained until I get there!_" the line clicked and the dial tone rang loudly in her ears.

She turned around to stare at Klaus, the phone still clutched in her limp hand. He grumbled a few curse words under his breath, walking out of the room shaking his head. "What just happened?" she asked loudly, completely confused by the quick confrontation she had inadvertently had with the original.

"My idiot brother was born, that is what happened!" Klaus grumbled loudly as he continued walking back to his study.

Only two outcomes could come from his brother's impromptu visit... pain and misery.

* * *

**A/N: *****IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING TO THE NEXT CHAPTER:**

**In chapter two, Klaus' inner monologue stated: "**Klaus glared up at her, watching as his own masculine face stared down at him and lit up with joy. His face, one that had reflected nothing but coldness and hatred for a thousand years, held the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. Her eyes, set deep into_ his_ face, were now staring down at him hopefully and with more light in them than he had ever seen before."

**In this chapter, Liz's inner monologue stated:** "The light surrounding Caroline was so bright, it was almost shameful she hasn't realized it sooner. That, and the fact that Caroline's face held an unfamiliar shade of green eyes, and Klaus' face stared back with the same baby blues her daughter was born with."

**That right there are two of the most important lines in all four chapters I have written. The word "light" being a keyword for this story as it has been repeated several time in Gabrielle's prediction and as all of Caroline's descriptions. I want you all to take note that Klaus might be stuck in Caroline's body, but his green/blue eyes have remained the same. Same way that Caroline is stuck in Klaus' body, but her blue eyes are now in his body. Not many people will pay attention enough to notice this. This simple little thing will be something that both makes and breaks them as both a couple and as characters in their own lives. **

**"The eyes are the window to the soul."**

** Remember all that, sear it into your beautiful Klaroline fandom brains, because it_ will come back_. I can't stress how important this is and how big of a play those two little descriptions will have an impact in the future for both of them. It will lead to a giant realization on both party's part, and an epiphany so bittersweet you'll want to cry.**

**These small tidbits will eventually reveal exactly why I picked such a romantic song (Change by Kopecky Family Band) as the title for such a terribly UNromantic story.**

**Let me know if you figure out the song's meaning connected to the giant clue I've just handed to you.**

* * *

**Okay. Now that all the important notes are out of the way... ****Please review! I want to know everyone is taking this story as seriously as I am. Thank you.**

**Follow me on Tumblr: itskathybabe**

**I hope all the mommies out there had a good mother's day yesterday! If you're from the UK, I hope your mother's day was wonderful as well back in March!**

**This chapter explained some of why I threw such a random curveball last chapter about Klaus' flashbacks of New Orleans. The storyline is slowly but surely unraveling for you all.**

**Just like gaining Klaus' affection, you must be patient and willing to hope it's all worth it.**

* * *

*********P.S. The cover I have for the story was found on Google, I don't know who the picture belongs to, who created it, or even where exactly I found it... all I did was write my story name on it. If you know who made it, please tell me because I feel like I'm stealing it… and I really don't want to be **_**that**_** girl. **

**With that said, if anyone reading this is adept at Photoshop and has the kindness in their hearts to make a story cover that pertains to **_**Change**_**… please PM me and let me know and we'll talk! I'm desperate and completely useless at editing pictures. Thank you!**

**Hope you all liked this chapter! Until next time.**

–**Kathy**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: thank you to everyone who reviewed! I see you're all just as excited for this story as I am, and that makes me so motivated to give you all my absolute best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Change**

"_Take a picture you could never recreate._

_Write a song, make a note_

_for the lump that sits inside your throat._

_Change the locks, change the scene,_

_Change it all but can't change what we've been."_

–_Trojans by Atlas Genius_

**Chapter Five**

"Hold _still!_" Caroline shrieked as she tugged harshly on a half curled lock of blonde hair.

"It's bloody burning through my skull, Caroline!" Klaus growled as he watched a long stream of smoke fizzle before his eyes. The stench of burnt hair reached his nostrils and he wondered why on earth women ever put themselves through this irksome torture.

"You can handle breaking every bone in your body off your own whim but you can't manage to ignore the freaking curling iron?" Caroline muttered, applying an anti-breakage hair oil to the lock of fizzled hair in her hand.

She had been attempting for over an hour in keeping Klaus still just long enough to make her body look presentable for today's Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

"Let me ponder the ramifications of me succumbing to the adrenaline and power of my werewolf side, and then compare it to the idiocy that is curling your _already_-curly hair."

"Just think of something else," she snapped, already twirling another thick strand over the heated ceramic. His bitchy mood better go away in time of the actual Pageant.

"Like _what_? Like how ravishing my legs look in these shoes?" he grumbled, glaring down at the ugly death traps strapped to thin, feminine, ankles. If he wasn't in such a precarious position he'd take a moment to admire her beautifully toned legs.

He was going to break his bloody nose just taking one step… _that_ he knew for a fact.

"I already told you, Klaus. Those are the lowest heels I have."

"_Despicable_."

She rolled her eyes. "Just… I don't know! Recite my Miss Mystic speech one more time, or something. Jeez…"

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the massacre and humiliation of these lovely, attention seeking, females as they undergo a—"

"Those are not the lines I told you to memorize." She argued, accidentally yanking on the hair in frustration hard enough to pull him back a few inches. The hot iron unintentionally touched his scalp. Klaus was about to let the abuse slide once again… until he caught the twisted smile of satisfaction on her face as a quiet sizzle met their ears.

Ultimately, she was only hurting her own self, but he couldn't let the offense slide.

He jumped from her hold and slapped the blasted iron out of her hands where it clanked loudly onto the carpeted floor. "Don't forget love," he spit, pushing her against the wall by the lapels of a clean black suit pulled from his closet, "you may be detained inside of _my_ body, but you do not hold any power over me. I am doing this god-forsaken favor for you out of the goodness of my everlasting heart… don't make me go back on that, sweetheart. Do not test my patience."

Caroline pushed his hands away from her, rolling her eyes in aggravation at his overreaction and act of bravado.

"And if you mess up _my_ speech, know that I will make sure every single one of your enemies finds out exactly how weak you are right now," she snapped, pointing a finger into his face. "You may be doing this out of the kindness of your so called 'heart,' but let's get one thing clear." She pushed him back down, manipulating him to a sitting position in front of the white and gold plated dressing table. "For today, _you_ are _me_. So start acting like it!" she shouted as an unexplained bout of anger overcame her, shocking them both.

Klaus remained quiet, a small smirk gracing his features as he watched her huff and puff from his spot in front of the mirror. She was yanking his hair harder now, further twisting his mood from fuming to worshipful in a nanosecond.

In the end, with every tug and yank, he sat through the torture silently until she finished an hour later. She was magnificent when pushed into anger, but he didn't want to push too hard, fearful of what would ensue.

* * *

The instant they arrived at the Lockwood manor they scoured the entire grounds for Carol. As soon as they found her, Klaus, with false sweetness, explained that due to lack of volunteers—which had _nothing whatsoever_ (cue smug smirk) to do with his conniving idea to compel a few workers to go home for the day—"Caroline" proposed to her that Klaus will be her assistant.

"How… _nice_… and what a beautiful dress, Caroline." Carol said fakely, gently patting Klaus' arm delicately as she gestured to the dress he was forced into. Without waiting for a response, she twirled away with an air of superiority to go and mingle with a few volunteers.

He glanced down in disgust at the spot on his arm where Carol touched him. "Despicable woman. How you ever willingly work for her is beyond me."

"She might be a walking Botox needle, but she's the town Mayor... and Tyler's mom. You need to pretend to be nice if we're gonna pull today off." She said distractedly, pen and paper in hand as she ticked off a previously written list of the day's tasks.

"Won't the late Mrs. Lockwood be a bit perturbed that most of her day's festivities will be led by the 'big bad hybrid,' as you lot so charmingly title me as?" He asked, raising a brow at his body decked out in a dark suit and matching button down.

"Don't worry about it." she said, squaring her shoulders and preparing to take charge. "Just follow me and stay out of my way, if you see someone at the head of the pageant committee walk then by just pretend you're doing something important. Okay?"

Klaus smirked patronizingly, placing his hands behind his back in reluctant obedience.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Klaus watched Caroline with keen eyes as she flew about in her element. It took less time than they imagined to convince the people that they were under Klaus' instruction instead of hers.

He had to bat a few old women away, however, when confronted with some floral issues he had absolutely no knowledge, nor care, for. Caroline quickly intervened, covering for him and answering all questions the confused women had.

Her ability to completely overcome any situation and always come out the victor left him in a perpetual state of wariness and pride.

The greatest hurdle life could possibly throw at her: a stolen identity. Her physical face has been taken away and given away to a man who both cherished and detested her equally.

Her ability to shake off her worries and "go with the flow" was disgustingly inspiring. He dawdled behind her all day, watching her with the attentiveness of an eager student and the fascination of a hunting predator.

"You know, love… this is our first date." He had said jokingly in order to bring her out of a blaze of anger when one of the decorators ripped through an irreplaceable table cloth.

She wasn't amused by his comment, but she stopped yelling at the young girl who had carelessly torn through the fabric.

In the span of several hours she had managed to make three grown men cower, one florist cry, and one pageant contestant actually _forfeit_. She was devastatingly perfect and utterly unworthy of the patheticness of this town's attempt at a pageant.

She could lead cities into their own downfalls, armies of men into war, with just a few manipulative words if she so wished.

For someone with such little supremacy, she was _powerful_.

And then, as if the Holy trinity were personally watching over him from up above, fate decided to grace him with a perfect distraction from Caroline's dictations.

"I swear to God! These people are idiots!" Caroline ranted as he searched for a nearby bottle of liquor to simmer her down and shut her up. "I told the caterer 'all buffet tables need to be at the far left side of the dance floor.' What do they do? What do they _do_, _Klaaauuus_?"

He startled out of his search as he realized she was directing her angry question at him. It physically hurt him not to roll his eyes at the irritatingly bossy woman. "They didn't—"

"They didn't listen! _Exactly_!" she cut off, fuming, throwing her arms in the air. He held the clipboard in his hands, each item has been ticked off and all that was left was to wait for the actual guests to arrive.

"Why don't you just calm—"

"Caroline!" A familiar voice called out, thankfully bringing Caroline out of her rant before she could cause another scene.

Klaus turned around, greeted by the sight of the doppelganger walking towards him. "Elena." He said stiffly, unsure how Caroline would greet her friend.

"Hey, Elena." Caroline said, awkwardly. Klaus turned to watch Caroline assessing her friend, her eyes shining hopefully and longingly to the familiar face.

"Klaus." Elena practically growled without meeting her eyes. Caroline physically deflated at the lack of attention from her friend, before brushing it off and playing her part as the most-hated hybrid.

"You've been AWOL, lately and not returning any calls! I need to talk to you." Elena ranted, her words were strong but she was shifting her eyes on the floor between himself and Caroline. "_Alone_." Caroline's eyes widened, turning to Klaus in fear as he stiffly watched Elena fidget, her eyes still cold and downcast in her discomfort in Klaus' body's presence.

"I'd love to, swee—err, but there are so many things that need to be done…" he began, trying to imitate Caroline's chipper disposition and utterly failing at it.

"It won't take long, Care, I promise." Elena pleaded, not meeting his eyes and instead staring at someplace around his chin.

"Sure." Klaus smirked, ignoring Caroline's noise of fearful protest, but there was nothing she could do as Elena dragged him away, far enough so that Caroline's prying ears wouldn't hear.

"What's up?" He forced the casual words out with a nonchalance he wasn't feeling.

Elena sighed wearily, looking down at her feet with slumped shoulders. "I don't know, I mean, there's some things I need to tell you and Bon about Damon. It's kind of important and I want you girls to hear me out. No judgments."

Klaus internally rolled his eyes, at the pathetic girl and her obvious sire bond. He could sniff it out from a mile away. "If it's about your ongoing love-affair with the other Salvatore, I already know."

Elena's eyes widened, "yeah... Anyways, tomorrow night? Damon told me I should host a sleepover at his place, and I agreed. Wine, drinking and dancing like old times?" She smiled, momentarily looking into his eyes only to glace away quickly.

Klaus hummed his reply, not exactly an affirmation or negation, as he watched her nod briskly, and wave her good luck before walking off in the direction of her brother.

"What was that all about? What did she say?" Caroline hissed, barreling her way towards him as he stood alone amongst a growing crowd.

Klaus opened his mouth to reply, "your presence is required at a sleepover tomorrow night."

She was about to tell him to go deny the invite before she was interrupted.

"Welcome to the annual Miss Mystic Falls pageant. Everyone give a big round of applause for our very own Miss Mystic, Caroline Forbes. Caroline, honey? Come on up!"

Caroline's eyes widened as she swirled her head to meet Klaus' eyes. "That's your cue!" she hissed, pushing him toward the makeshift stage. Klaus smirked as all eyes turned to him and all the elegant guests daintily clapped their limp hands together in weak and forced applause.

_Despicable_ _humans_, he thought. They should have been thundering the vicinity with their applause at the sight of Caroline.

He made his way to the stage confidently, albeit wobbly in the wretched high heels, playing his part as Caroline perfectly. Taking the mic from Carol's skeletal fingers, he held it tight in his hand, sweeping his eyes over the pompous townspeople.

"Hello." His voice rang out as the sound waves buzzed out of loud speakers placed around the grand backyard. Caroline, standing toward the very edge of the stage, urged him on with a wave of her frantic hands. He breezed through the prepared speech mechanically, all the while keeping his eyes on Caroline.

"_Speak slower_." She coached, her low voice carrying through the breeze toward his ears with everyone none the wiser as he spoke into the mic. "_Speak faster. Smile bigger. Walk a little bit to the left. Not too far! Chin up, Klaus! No, not like that, lower! There you go. Yeah, good job! Nailed it!_"

After all the contestants were announced and dancing with their partners, Klaus walked back to the edge of the party towards Caroline, in the mood to bleed someone dry.

"You did great." She sighed, finally relaxed and smiling gratefully. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Yes. Now let's use our energy and try getting back to our own bodies before you ask me to attend Elena's sleepover as well."

* * *

"We won't be needed for a few hours now." Caroline sighed, craning her neck from side to side, the muscles on Klaus' shoulders were unbelievably knotted. She held in her hand a bottle of champagne and two glasses, a celebration for their first day overcoming the crap that was their lives for now.

Klaus followed her wordlessly toward a bench, quite aware of the fact that a young hybrid's eyes were constantly on his body's every move.

"Did you make any break trough's last night?" she asked after her glass has been topped to the rim with bubbling liquid.

"Yes. An old friend of mine heard I was probing around for some witches. We will be meeting with him in Louisiana on Monday night."

"Well, today's Saturday. We have to stay holed up for two days." She sighed. Klaus hummed beside her, staring out at the lake and chugging down on his third glass already.

"Unless you want to stumble around in those shoes, princess, I suggest you slow down with the alcohol. I'm a bit of a light weight." She said, watching him refill another glass.

"I'm a thousand years old love, I don't your weak liver applies."

"Yeah but you're in my body. What if it's just our souls that got switched or something… but everything else is, you know, the same?" Caroline pondered her comment, "think about the interesting philosophical questions our dilemma poses."

Klaus stared at her curiously, wondering what rock this beautiful woman crawled out of. Honestly she was so smart. Why did she dare hide it?

"Let's test the hypothesis then." She watched as he lifted a hand towards her.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, dodging his quick swipe.

"We already know you have my speed and reflexes and I yours. I wonder if—" Klaus' eyes widened. He dropped the glass onto the stone bench beside him and quickly looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention to them.

It's the only logical solution... it would explain why she's been so out of it today, irrationally angry for the smallest things, a red hot attitude that was usually so unlike her...

"Show me your vampire features."

"What?"

"Just do it, Caroline!" he snapped, grabbing her shoulders seriously. Caroline sighed, double checking they were completely alone before she attempted at dropping the fangs from her mouth.

It was a lot easier than she expected. In her body, she had to think twice about it in order to drop her fangs and release her true face. Usually, a detailed thought of the man she had drained of blood her first night as a vampire did the trick. In Klaus' body however, all she had to do was hear the words "go" and the fangs were already dropping down her gums like a knife through butter.

Klaus clenched his teeth in preparation, watching as long black bulging veins appeared underneath her closed eyes. Her mouth opened to reveal four sets of fangs, confirming his suspicions. "Open your eyes." He muttered.

Caroline's eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of glowing black and yellow eyes. Hybrid eyes.

"What?" she asked, watching Klaus' face ashen. "What is it? What?"

"You're a hybrid." He whispered.

* * *

The instant Klaus uttered those three words he grabbed her and fled the premises, taking her to the safety of his mansion as he proceeded to wear a hole into a Persian carpet that, she assumed, was more expensive than her car.

She didn't bother bringing up the fact that they left the pageant before the winner could be announced.

The room she was in was still trashed from his temper tantrum the other night over Chris' unsiring. No one had bothered picking up the crap strewn all over the room and she busied herself with cleaning up the debris as he paced in the hallway just behind the open door.

"You know, I bet it was Esther. She had to have one last laugh before her death. Stripping me and giving away my powers to the kindest woman in existence, someone who could barely hurt a fly. Of course that was her final attempt at bringing me down if all else failed. Depriving me of my bloody body. Ingenious. But how did she do it? Why did it happen so long after her death?"

She smiled in satisfaction as she heard his compliment within his angry rant.

Picking up a few chunks of marble from a broken statue of a bust, she chucked it into a black garbage bag without thinking twice. She didn't see the soft green glow emit from a few cracks on the woman's stone face as she shoveled scraps of ripped pillow cases inside.

"Maybe it wasn't her?" she supplied, knotting the ends of the plastic and tossing it to the side with all the other garbage bags.

"And who else would do it, sweetheart?" he snapped. "We've already gone through the mile-long list of people who want me defenseless. She's the only logical one left to consider!"

"Just freaking relax until we can talk to those witches _okay_?" she huffed, seriously, it was like she was the only level-headed adult in the room sometimes. Christ.

Monday can't come sooner enough though, she hated just waiting around and not doing anything.

"Why don't we just leave tonight? I can't stand just sitting around and coming up with crappy guesses on what the hell happened to us. This shit is dragging on, and I'm getting tired of saying 'I want my body back.' It's the same damn song every minute!" she stomped her way over to him, poking him in the chest.

"We can't leave just yet. Unless you want my brother Kol to drop in unannounced onto the unsuspecting people of this town?"

"Isn't he the one that's friends with witches or something?" she asked, twirling Klaus' strange ornate ring she just noticed was adorning her pinky finger. "Why don't we just—"

"I do not know, Caroline." He threw his hands up with a growl, the outburst just bubbled out of him without warning. Her incessant questions and chipper attitude about every bloody thing was enough to drive a monk mad.

"I don't know. I don't know anything any longer. Keep my bloody hybrid DNA for eternity for all I care. I don't know anything. I don't know what we're going to do. I don't even know if Gabrielle's prediction even had anything to do with this. _Stop hounding me_!"

She reeled back, eyes wide as he blew up before her very eyes. She's never seen him so… discomposed. His eyelids were twitching wildly and there was a crazy glint in his eyes. She could swear his pupils were dilating and contracting at quick speeds making him look like a deranged Looney Tunes villain.

He was twitching wildly all over.

She remembered once seeing Tyler lose it like this right before a full moon, but without his wolf side to turn to, she assumed, Klaus didn't know how to handle any level of anger.

Biting her lip, she hesitantly reached forward before he could destroy another room. There was only one way she would get Tyler to calm down when he was like this, she hoped it would work on Klaus.

Her hand gently made contact with his shoulder and he (_thankfully_) stopped floundering around like a dying fish long enough for her to steer him wordlessly toward the guest bed, laying him down and crawling into the beside him.

She didn't bother over thinking about how terribly inappropriate this was. She didn't bother over thinking the ramifications to her actions.

A small dangerous pang in her heart hurt at seeing him, always so well put together, completely lose it over something they had no control over. So what if she had his hybrid powers now? She didn't exactly feel any different, save for the irrational irritation at small things... but it's not like she wanted his weirdo werewolf drama to begin with.

Tyler may be her boyfriend, but sadly it's Klaus she needs to think about right now. Her life and his have been knotted together until the unforeseeable future. She had to get over all her prejudices if she wanted to help in getting her body back.

He never physically hurt her (_save the little downfall on her birthday, but she was over that_). He was always pleasant around her and even a blind person could tell he had feelings for her.

As much as she hated him on a good day and as bitchy as she was around him, they were sort of friends. The poor guy was severely lacking in friends, and maybe it was a good thing that life decided to fuck them over and switch their brains, she could have been paired with worse. Like Damon for example.

She would have tried to find the quickest and easiest way to kill herself if she had woken up yesterday in _Damon's_ body.

They were now a team, as weird as it was to admit, and right now, her teammate needed her.

"I'm not your enemy here," she said.

"What are you doing, Caroline?" he snapped, resigned to the fact that this frail woman was now more powerful than him and he had no means of fixing it at the moment.

"Friendship 101: Comfort your friend when they need it most." She laid her head on Klaus' boobs (_do not giggle, Caroline, do not giggle_) winding her arms around his thin body in a horizontal hug.

_Wow I am oddly tiny_, she thought to herself, feeling her own body beneath her. Or maybe Klaus was just a giant.

Klaus lay stiffly beneath her, staring up at the plaster ceiling above him as he pondered what exactly the word _friend_ means when labeled to them. His body's heavy head lay comfortably on the pillowy breasts beneath the dress he wore. Gradually, after a few minutes without movement from either party, Klaus began to relax.

Lifting his arms hesitantly, he wrapped them around Caroline, his_ friend's_ shoulders. He tried not to cringe at the fact that, for all intents and purposes, he was physically hugging himself.

"There. You're all calm now, see?" she cooed, the words muffled as her face pressed between her own breasts. She could sort of understand the appeal, it's like she was resting on little clouds.

"Yes..." they were quiet, their breaths evening out and slowing down to the same speed. After a few minutes, Caroline raised a hand and mischievously poked the breast that was under her cheek.

"This is _so_ weird." She murmured, watching her boob jiggle under her face.

"I thought you said no playing with the—"

"It's _my_ body, rules don't count for me." She snapped, unwrapping herself from Klaus and fell onto her back next to him, staring up at the ceiling as well. "At least you're not freaking out again."

Klaus remained silent, the entirety of his right side humming in awareness at Caroline's close proximity. It seemed even in a different body, he was unequivocally mindful of her every movements.

She turned her head to face him, waiting a few moments for him to do the same. As their eyes connected, everything around her blurred and all she could see were his cold blue-green eyes slowly softening the longer they stared at one another.

"As weird as this crap is, we're in this together now." She cheered optimistically, clutching his hand next to hers as a sign of alliance. "However long this takes, whoever else decides to screw us over… we're in it together. You don't need to be worried because you can trust me."

He smiled though it didn't reach his eyes. Still too irritated and resigned to show her a positive emotion. He also didn't want to let on to the fact that he didn't have faith in half of her statement.

"Friends then?"

She smiled. He narrowed his eyes dangerously, grinning maliciously, "does this mean I can touch your breasts now?"

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You're lucky you're pretty or I'd kill you." She joked back, winking in his direction as he laughed loudly. He knew better than to know she wouldn't even be fazed by his halfhearted threat.

As Caroline happily joked about their situation, Klaus smiled on. Completely amazed that she had turned him from a blinding rage to a tame kitten in less than a minute.

"Can you imagine? You'd be the only man on the face of this earth who knows what it feels like to have your breast groped." She sniggered.

His hand tingled when she squeezed it in her grasp as she laughed loudly at a quip he wasn't aware he had even said in response. All he could see were her blue eyes, watering as tears began to form from laughter.

When she lit up from within like how she did now, it was why he was so determined to get help. She didn't deserve to be stuck within the walls of a murder. She didn't deserve to have blood taint the hands she now handled.

As Klaus kept smiling softly at whatever it was she was saying, they didn't notice the faint green glow within one of the back trash bags.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so nervous about this chapter. I put in a ton of mixed stuff here and I'm scared it's too much useless info! Everything will be explained, it's a very slow crawl to their destination. I couldn't help myself with this one.**

***Important* to anyone who is wondering: **_**no! **_** That green glow "thing" is **_**not**_** the enemy. I can't reveal what it is, but I can tell you that much.**

**My klaroline heart needed Caroline to begin showing signs of affection. And even though she doesn't notice she's doing it, Klaus does and he appreciates it. I hope I somehow didn't cheese up the story with their inner monologues.**

**Let me know what you all think! **

**Reviews are what gets me to update.**

**Love, Kathy (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Shout out to: DelaneyDay, zalmx'z 1ArX aLeXanDrX, Evalunna, fangler, Lynn, dustflare, CarelessLove91, MissK, EyesLikeLiquidFire, and the 1 guest, thank you all so much for leaving such kind reviews! **

**To everyone who Fav/Followed! Hi! Welcome and I hope you enjoy the update!**

**P.S: This chapter is dedicated to NorwayGirl95 and DelaneyDay. I had no idea how to begin or end this chapter…but thinking back to a PM/Review they had both delivered, I knew exactly what to write. Thanks so much for your unknowing part in this chapter!**

**I'm sorry for any typos! I'm just one person who can't see small letters all that clearly.**

* * *

**Change**

"_Sun take my pain today, give the devil back his heart._

_Do not pray for us, we are not sleeping while the others are sleeping._

_Oh he's sleeping, the devil is sleeping."_

–_Give the Devil Back His Heart by Barr Brothers_

**Chapter Six**

"Um… what the hell is _that_?" Caroline pointed at a hunk of rusted metal and rotting wood peeking out from under a grey sheet off in a dusty corner of his otherwise clean and neat basement.

He had given her a more intimate tour of his house that early Sunday morning, preparing for the arrival of his brother and the ruse they had to keep up.

He showed her every nook and cranny of his place; where the silverware was kept, linen closets, where wood for the fireplaces were kept, where to find the hidden torture champers (_"just in case," he had said with a cool glint in his eyes_), where the spare blood bags were kept.

You know, the little things that random house guests don't really pick up on or get the privilege to know unless they've been there a while.

It was all moot though because after the first four or five linen closets he pointed out to her she had been lost within the mental map of his disgustingly overzealous mansion.

Their last stop had been the basement, where he kept all the possessions he's hoarded, like only a lonely old lady would do with cats, but had no place for within the pristine museum he called "home."

"What the hell is what?" he asked without looking up from the inspection he was giving an ugly old, puke colored, moth eaten robe… or well, the remains of it.

Gross, dude. Just. Gross.

"_This_" she pointed, lifting the grey sheet carefully to inspect the moldy wooden platform connected to a dilapidated metal contraption. Corroded rust gave way to small holes and dents all over the body of…whatever it was. Rust colored flecks of iron, more frightening than her uncle Bob after a week without showering, rained down onto her bare feet as she lifted the sheet completely off the contraption.

"Belle's father called, he wants his invention back," she mocked, staring at the ugly death trap in front of her. She was startled when a loud tinkling laugh met her ears, signaling that Klaus heard her offhand comment and actually found it funny.

"That's the world's very first attempt at an automobile." He grinned, patting down onto the heap affectionately, sprinkling more magical fairy dust onto the floor. Again… _gross_.

"That's a _car_?" she exhaled, staring at the thing in aghast. It really did look like a real life version of the wood-chopping invention Maurice created from _Beauty and The Beast_. "How in the world is _that_ a _car_?"

"It's a combustion steam engine from the early eighteenth century."

"It looks like a bear trap. Why do you have it?"

"Sentimental reasons," he smirked, covering it back up and patting it again with the same affection an absentee father would do to his eager child. He turned to look at her and she almost rolled her eyes at the familiar look in his eyes. He was about to tell her a story she really didn't care for. _Seriously_. Guys and their "cars" what's up with that?

She took a seat on a tacky tie-dyed beanbag chair- which curiously smelled like stale marijuana- preparing for the long spiel she knew she couldn't prevent.

"Rebekah and I traveled into the old village of what is now New Orleans riding on little _Bertha. _She could barely crawl faster than three miles an hour. The ride was slow and utterly unbearable, but she was something no one else had back then. She was a flash of wealth to an underprivileged society. She was the "ns-5" to a land that still employed slaves and used homemade plows made out of spare driftwood and twine."

She blinked at the insinuation that he's seen the movie iRobot and that his car's name was Bertha.

"_Bertha_?" She spit out, cackling at the ridiculous name for the humorous attempt at a car... but then she remembered the look of it and figured such a granny name wasn't that off base to the hunk of wood and metal crashing in the dark corner of his basement.

_How did he even get that shit in here_, she wondered curiously.

He glared at her, warning her to shut up.

"Owning the big house on the top of the hill was one thing, but having the gall and supremacy to actually have a machine in a world of men's blood, sweat, and tears… I was instantly denoted their equivalent of mayor to their land," he boasted, signaling the end of his happy story.

"Wow. You'd think after so long living one way that they'd be a little cautious around modern devices," she noted, amusing him with her apathy and immediate opposition to anything he's ever done.

"Anyways," she changed the subject before he could start again, "Kol will be home soon so we need to get back upstairs, _Caroline_."

Klaus pursed his lips, "yes, I believe you're right… Klaus." He muttered, playing along as they walked back into the living room.

"No need to wait about, brother," a taunting voice called from around the corner. Caroline's eyes widened as a familiar man sauntered over to her. "I've already arrived."

Kol embraced her, crushing her into a weird brotherly hug she's seen Stefan and Damon do sometimes. Her arms hung awkwardly at her sides, over thinking about how exactly brothers clasp each other without it getting weird. As she was about to lift her arms to embrace him back, he had already pulled away and was eagerly staring at Klaus.

"And _who_ is _this_?" he purred, eyes grazing over Caroline's body predatorily. She choked on a surprised cough as Kol flashed over to Klaus and took his hand in his own. "I'm Kol, the better looking Mikaelson, at your service, darling." He kissed Klaus' hand, lingering a little too long to be proper.

Klaus' eyes were flashing in barely surpassed disgust as Kol's wet mouth touched the skin of his hand.

Lowering the tone of her voice to the way Klaus does sometimes, "that's _Caroline_," she piped up before Klaus could attack his own brother.

"Hi." Klaus snapped fiercely, openly wiping his brother's germs on his jeans. If he had thought about it, maybe he should never have done that knowing that his brother's blatant enjoyment for a challenge coming from the opposite sex greatly rivaled his own.

"_Hi_." Kol simpered back, winking at her lasciviously.

"Why don't we all sit down!" Caroline piped up, trying to keep her awkward fumbling to a minimum as she tentatively steered Kol to the far side of the room, away from Klaus.

Kol sat down, reaching to the coffee table where she had earlier paced an assortment of alcoholic drinks on display. The clock read eleven in the morning, but the situation called for it desperately.

"So," she began once Klaus was seated a safe distance away from Kol's seedy eyes, she felt dirty just having the grubby dude _look_ at her body like that. "What have you been up to, _love_?" putting uncomfortable emphasis onto the uncalled for term.

She didn't catch Klaus' inaudible groan at her complete and utter failure with using the term "love."

Kol looked at her strangely before visibly shaking his thoughts off. "After the lot of you killed Esther I took the time to explore the modern gadgets of today's century. Very interesting this iPod contraption." He held up the small device, grinning at it wickedly.

The look reminded her of a young kid burning ants with a magnifying glass… that first step one takes before growing up and becoming a serial killer.

"Yeah, the music industry throughout the years has changed too," she supplied, keeping him talking and diverting his attention away from Klaus.

Klaus rolled his eyes at the tattle, too bored to engage in their semi-frivolous chat and too bitter of the easy conversation to tell Caroline she was behaving _nothing_ like him whatsoever.

"So…" Kol said, finally starting to hint at a conversation that perked Klaus' ears. Kol looked over at him, hesitant to speak freely in front of a new female.

"She's fine, brother, she is in the inner circle now." Caroline said ridiculously, attempting to imitate Klaus' gruff no-nonsense tone.

Kol gave Klaus a reproaching look and Klaus knew exactly what his younger brother was seeing. A dainty baby vampire, frail and blonde, baby faced and innocent to the world's treachery. _"Whatever was she doing here with him?" _Kol was probably thinking.

"I didn't stop by here to this dreaded town on my own whim. I've brought some interesting news…about _Marcel_." Kol taunted giddily, waiting with baited breath for Klaus' imminent reaction. Caroline had no idea who this Marcel guy was, so she kept her face neutral, disappointing Kol for the crazed outburst he was hoping would happen.

Kol didn't notice the other occupant at the other end of the room completely tense up, face squeezing tightly with the effort to not growl out an obscenity.

"What do you know?" Caroline asked tentatively, quickly glancing at Klaus for some sort of sign he knew what was going on.

"Word on the street says Marcel's been plotting something big. He's been seen gathering some witches within one of the upper level portals and tucking them away under his belt. Seems he's gathering some sort of army to hide behind. What for? I don't know. But I came here to assist in his demise. You know how much I enjoy a good battle." Kol said seriously, sitting back with a cautious look, wholly prepared for his brother to lash out and destroy the room at that news.

Klaus' eyes twitched wildly as he gripped the black shirt he was wearing. _Marcel_. That bloody idiot, always ruining his life. He shot up from his seat and began to pace so he could think a little clearer.

Kol's eyes focused on the pacing woman in confusion before turning back to look at his brother.

"Oh no…" She said lamely, red faced and embarrassed. She was a shitty actress, and a horrible liar to boot. What the hell was she doing? This was a stupid idea to keep Kol in the dark after just revealing something that seemed pretty big to Klaus.

"'Oh no'?" he reiterated in shock and agitation, "Niklaus, the bloke's a cackhanded wally and he's been out to overthrow you for centuries and you say '_oh no_?'"

_What the fuck is a cock handled wolly, _Caroline grumbled internally as she shifted around in her seat for something to say that wouldn't be deemed suspicious to him. This was a stupid, dumb, idea.

Why couldn't they just tell Kol what's going on, he seemed nice enough wanting to help his brother out. Klaus was more paranoid than a slut at church over his brother. The dude can't be that bad if he's warning Klaus of something seemingly important.

"I'm not—" she was about to say it, she was about to go right out and tell the dude she was wasn't who he thought she was, but then the annoying whisper in the back of her head piped up and she remembered conversation from last night.

They were _teammates_, and Klaus needed her to play her part in this. She had to trust that Klaus knew what he was doing and that Kol needed to be kept in the dark.

"—I mean, that bloody dolt!" She growled, standing up and attempted to muster every bit of the bad ass acting skills she did not contain.

She got up with a roaring growl, quickly throwing the first thing her hand came in contact with onto the floor. A crystal glass shattered loudly, they all stopped to turn and stare at the shards littering the floor.

While he was distracted, staring at the falling droplets of whiskey on his pant leg, she grabbed Kol by the lapels of his dark green wind coat and growled into his face, attempting her very best to channel the evil Klaus she knew.

Shit was harder than it looked.

Kol's eyes widened, before a knowing look fell upon his gaze and he relaxed in her hostile hold. "There's the brother I've grown to love and hate."

"How do you know?" she growled in his face, shaking him roughly all the while shooting out apologizes for being so rough with him.

Klaus stopped his angry pacing and watched Caroline play finally own up and her part to a T. _She was magnificent_, he thought proudly. He was almost compelled to applaud her performance at getting a few answers out of her brother.

"Now, now," Kol groaned, peeling her hands away from him and quickly dashing to the other side of the room before she could try to fake-attack him again. "Not while a lady's present," he nodded over to Klaus.

"Tell us what you know. Enough with the theatrics, Kol and get on with it." Klaus demanded, forgetting his role as submissive bystander. Kol rounded back onto him, pushing Klaus onto the furthest couch and forcing him to sit.

"Do not move a muscle. Stop listening. Don't speak, darling." He compelled roughly.

Caroline gasped at the sight of Klaus loudly snapping his mouth shut and still all movements under the compulsion.

His eyes were dazed as he attempted to fight off the cloud of compulsion his mind was suffering. _Is this what it was like?_ He wondered, feeling his mind fighting against the abnormality attacking his subconscious.

He felt like he was throwing his body in each direction, hoping for his skin to budge an inch but nothing complied.

_Is this what it feels like to be buried in concrete?_ He idly wondered as he watched Caroline yell at Kol, presumably to bring him out of the compulsion. Everything was deathly quiet as he numbly watched Kol and Caroline verbally spar. The hands on her hips notified him that she had wavered in her role as she attempted at berating Kol.

_That's my girl, _he boasted, watching Caroline slap Kol's shoulders with both hands, throwing him back a few feet as they argued. Caroline pointed at him, jabbing her finger in the air in emphases for whatever she was saying.

Kol finally rolled his eyes, throwing his arms in the air as he stormed back over to Klaus. Klaus watched with hard eyes, attempting to narrow them in anger, as Kol brushed a blonde curl back behind his ear.

"You're free from my compulsion." Muddled words broke through his ears as his body slumped forward unconsciously from its unnatural freeze.

Klaus glared at his brother, but did not bother attacking him, knowing he was weaker at the moment and would lose any fight against Kol.

"Now." Caroline finally snapped, sitting next to him a little too close to be amicable. "Back to what you were saying."

Kol rolled his eyes, falling back on the couch across from them childishly. "I heard from Sophia. You remember beautiful Sophie don't you, _Nik_? She asked for your help specifically." Kol taunted at 'Caroline,' knowing something the beautiful blonde female didn't.

Klaus cleared his throat as Kol kept staring at his female body maliciously, "She's still in Louisiana?"

He raised a brow at that, searching his brother's blank gaze before turning back answering Klaus, "_Klaus_ told _you_, dear little lass, about _Sophia_?" he accused 'Caroline', bewildered and more than a little shocked the baby vampire knew that tidbit.

Caroline had to cool her features to keep from looking confused.

Klaus answered informally, "yeah."

Kol sat up on the couch, sitting forward to lean on his knees. "Huh. Well that's a surprise… maybe you _are_ in the inner circle then. Apologies for the compulsion, Caroline darling, no hard feelings."

Caroline watched confused as he apologized, Kol grinned, almost kindly, at Klaus in her body; a completely three-sixty to the vulgar way he had been treating 'her' before.

Klaus ignored his brother and looked up to his own face. "Looks like we're needed in New Orleans, _Klaus_."

* * *

Later that night, after Kol had left to torment the unsuspecting town of his pestering, Caroline snuck into the guest room Klaus will be occupying to keep up the pretense.

"What the hell was that all about earlier?" she asked as she watched Klaus awkwardly pile long blonde hair into a high pony tail. Seriously, the guy lived in the twelfth century, surely he knew how to handle long hair!

"What about earlier, love?" he asked, mastering the hairdo and sitting down on the high top bed with his cell phone.

"Marcel? And this Sophie person, everything? I'm so unprepared for this whirring world of yours Klaus. I feel like I've been dumped at sea with no life jacket, you know?" she complained honestly, falling back onto the bed next to him.

She looked up at him hoping for one second he didn't have to be all secrets and mystery and just tell her what the _hell_ was happening to them. "We already have important stuff on our plates, Klaus. Don't tell me the crap your brother dumped on us is going on the To Do list too."

Klaus remained silent, staring and typing away at his phone as if he didn't even hear her.

"Hello? Are you even_ listening_? I'm trying to have heart-to-heart again and you're not even—"

"Caroline." Klaus growled, smacking his hand loudly onto the bedspread between them. "I always listen to you, sweetheart, but for one moment, can you just give me a minute to think?"

She pressed her lips together in annoyance but huffed anyways, letting it go as she gave him his precious minute to "think."

After a few minutes in festering silence, she couldn't take it anymore and let her thoughts bubble out loud again.

"I left my mom for the time being because I woke up in your body. Then a little bomb is dropped that I've got your hybrid abilities… which by the way, really creeps me out because I almost blew up and _killed_ your brother when he compelled you today. I've never been that angry before, and that's pissing me off just thinking about all this shit." She took a deep breath, "now we need to go to New Orleans to find help over our _curse_" she spat the word out, "and defeat your weirdo protégé who's trying to take over your city? Honestly Klaus. How do you have time to do anything."

"We seem to have more problems than answers to our long list of questions." He murmured, unconsciously patting her on the leg that had begun twitching in nervous agitation. Her leg stopped twitching immediately at his touch.

"I'm so confused," she cried out, burrowing into her familiar back as Klaus sat up straighter, still typing away on his phone. "Things are happening so fast, I feel like I've been trapped in here for years not three _days_."

Klaus sighed, reaching out to hold her hand in his. He looked down, inspecting his own callused hand, familiar in every way to him. Caroline sat up and leaned down to place Klaus' giant head into the small crook of her own thin neck. _Kinda like a puzzle piece_, she thought grimly of their strange bodies molding into each other's kinda perfectly.

"You know, it's easier to hug you when you're in my body," she said after a few quiet moment of miserable silence. She didn't notice the subtext within her sentence. Klaus didn't bother acknowledging it.

"It's because we're familiar when staring back at our own skins."

"Yeah, maybe."

"I don't have any answers, Caroline." Klaus admitted finally, the soft confession so very unlike him. "I don't know what we did. I've never heard of body swapping such as this, but we'll figure it out. Stop worrying. Take a page from your book and just 'go with the flow.' Tomorrow we'll be in Louisiana and we'll figure out how to get back to our proper selves first and foremost," he said.

"What about that Marcel dude? Kol seemed pretty worried about that." She looked up at him, worrying her bottom lip and chewing it raw.

"I can't defeat a new enemy in a cheerleader's body can I?" he rolled his eyes mockingly. She snorted pulling away from the arm wrapped loosely around her. She crawled her way to the headboard and leaned against it.

"If you're gonna be acting the part, then you might as well learn your role." She sighed finally, patting the space beside her.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, sitting next to her and discarding his cell phone onto the nightstand beside him.

"You, my friend, are gonna get to know me. My hopes, my dreams, so if anything like today happens again, we'll be prepared."

Klaus smirked deeply at his words from so many nights ago when he'd dared her to take a chance with him. It seemed like lifetimes ago when she had been plotting against him, now look at her, openly kind and stuck with him for the time being.

Their choices and control over their own selves were ripped away from them in the darkness of the night and she still surprised him at every turn.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked out of the blue.

She laughed loudly, and he quietly wished it was her actual laugh he was hearing and not the laugh he had grown to hate for over a thousand years.

"Of all the questions and you start with that?" she rolled her eyes. "I pick green or blue. It changes. What's yours?" She smirked.

He stared at the blank white wall on the other side of the room, thoughtfully mulling over all the colors he could possibly imagine. He thought of saying "blue" because they were the color of her eyes… but he'd rather stake himself in both knees than admit to that.

"Red." He said finally, lying to her outright and hoping that it wouldn't bite him in the ass.

She rolled her eyes, slapping him on the shoulder, "of course."

"What's your–" he began again, but she stopped him.

"Ah, ah, ah." She tisked, playfully wiggling a finger in the air. "My turn. What's up with the scary art in your room? It's _so_ depressing to wake up to!"

Klaus thought about the art hanging on his wall, pictures from several points in time that had been painted by him. Wars he had witnessed. Bloodbaths he had taken part in… and at one particular low point, a village of men women and children he had mercilessly killed then commemorated by painting a canvas with the various shades of leftover blood.

"To remind myself." He replied monotonously, but left it at that.

"Of what?" she pressed, staring at him unwaveringly and sadly. Not with pity, Caroline was too pure and humble to ever pity anyone. But once again, as he stared into her eyes, everything around her blurred around its edges, he could almost picture her beautiful face staring back him instead of his own hard one.

"Of the destruction I always leave in my wake."

He could spit out that honest confession yet he couldn't tell her his favorite color were the colors of her eyes. It's that contradiction that made Klaus question his life's decisions.

"That's not true," she began to deny, but her bright baby blue eyes dimmed down with a worry no one had ever shown him. "I'm being detained inside of _your_ body, there's no destruction here other than random coincidence."

"You think this is a coincidence?" Klaus snapped, sitting up and still small enough to have to look up to her from his new position. "You think whatever did this to us chose me- Klaus the original hybrid- and you- the woman he would do _anything_ for- out of coincidence?"

Her eyes widened at his confession, she knew he liked her but it was easy to forget sometimes…

"I don't know? You said the psychic told you something like this was going to happen, but she never said it was me specifically. You could have easily woken up in Elena's body Friday morning. Or Damon's. Or _April_ _Young_ for Christ's sakes."

Klaus shook his head slowly, "whatever–_whoever_ did this to us knew what they were doing, love. Since the day I first saw you when I was within Alaric's body... you were my light. Just like Gabrielle predicted all those years ago, and you've been quite literally forced upon me. Whatever is happening here," he gestured between the two, wholeheartedly putting his heart on his sleeve for just a moment, if he could only make her understand, "it's happening because it was fate. You must know that, love" he whispered hopefully.

She noted that the usually sarcastic pet name now wrapped around his lips and spilled into her like some silent declaration of loyalty and understanding.

Caroline almost gasped at the sight of his usually cold, dead lighting up with a small spark. Gone was the usual malicious glint and replaced with the softest, most hopeful look she's ever seen in his eyes.

She could almost feel his soul trying to reach out to her as she gazed at him, everything around them blurred and froze. She could have sworn on her own life that for a fraction of a second, she saw Klaus' face, his _real_ vampire face, hopefully gazing back at her.

What could she say to something like this? Such kind words from such a cold man, her first instinct was to nod and curl into him. Hug the life out of him and squeeze his soul into her own from the very happiness he had just made her feel from those few heartfelt words she so rarely gets.

But then… Tyler.

* * *

A/N: Oh man. I went from oh-my-god-Kol to Jesus fuck, punch me in the face this is disgustingly cute... in like a split second. Don't kill me, guys. Be gentle with me.

Reviews gets me to update!

Love you all!

Kathy


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I do not own TVD or any of its characters, nor do I have a Beta. I apologize for any mistakes in spelling and/or punctuation.**

* * *

**Change**

"_Suddenly, I'm hit!_

_Is this darkness of the dawn?_

_And your friends are gone;_

_And your friends won't come._

_I'll wait._

_So show me why you're strong,_

_Ignore everybody else._

_We're alone now."_

—_Retrograde by James Blake_

**Chapter Seven**

_Gasping for breath, Caroline, in a flurry of tangled blonde hair and wide panicked eyes, flew through the woods at break neck speed towards a destination she wasn't sure she would reach. _

_Her undead heart pounded in her ears as blood pooled out of her nose and accumulated over her curled upper lip. Venom and saliva spewed out of her open mouth into the cold wind lashing at her exposed skin. _

_Green trees, towered high above her head, seemed to suck the air from her lungs and the woods around her began to cave in._

_Her lungs clenched painfully and she feared she'd be too late in reaching the bottom of this rabbit hole. She could already hear the terror inflicting roars coming from the man she's been frantically trying to run from but the labyrinth of green and brown blurred around her, confusing her and throwing her mental compass off kilter._

_Pounding steps, pounding heart, pounding feet; she was chased through the limitless green undergrowth like a helpless animal being hunted._

_Finally, thank God, after what felt like an eternity of running blindly, she broke through into an empty clearing. Her body lurched forward at the sight then froze, only to immediately wish she could turn back around and get lost in the maze of trees again just to avoid the sight before her._

_A young boy's body lay in the middle of the meadow, a sea of dead grass and cut down tree stumps littered all around his unmoving frame. _

_His arms were outstretched and limp over his head. A group of black crows, circling high above in the sky, payed homage to the gruesome sight. _

_His body was bloodied from head to toe and crumpled in on itself. _

_She almost gaged at the stench emitting from the stagnant pools of blood rising up from long deep gashes in crisscrosses all over his sunken chest._

_Letting out a cry she didn't think her body was capable of making, she flew forward, throwing herself over the small blonde boy but careful not to touch him in fear she'd make the deathly wounds worse. Her relief at hearing the soft breath rasp out of his broken nose was short lived as the sound of a twig snapping ceased her of all movement._

"_Go away! Haven't you done enough?" She cried out toward a shadow at the furthest end of the meadow. Moving her body so it protectively covered the boy's, she prepared herself for the imminent attack._

_A dark voice chuckled, echoing around the meadow so ominously she could have sworn all the wild-life around her quaked in fear. "Do you really think so low of me?" a familiar voice asked._

_She gasped, watching as Klaus casually walked up to her with his hands in his pockets and without a care in the world. She had been running from him forever and yet he still found her._

_He stared down at the nearly dead child with false pity. "Poor thing. Didn't even stand a chance against the wolves. Come on, love, he'll be dead soon. No point in wasting your time."_

_She ignored his false concern and hissed at him, clawing out toward his legs as she remained unmoving, hovering above the boy. Turning around and completely disregarding his presence, she shoved a few mouthfuls of her blood into the child's mouth, rubbing his throat and soothing the red liquid into his system. _

_Klaus chuckled behind her. "He'll die anyways, and all your hard work will be for naught."_

"_No, he won't!" she growled, "if he does… I won't stop until you're the one who's dead."_

_His gruff laughter reached her ears and the hair at the back of her neck stood on end from the menacing sound. _

"_You won't kill me," he said curtly, and as if time itself slowed down, Caroline turned around to find her own face staring down at her, contorted into a sinister smile. She watched with wide eyes as her mirrored image lifted a deft finger towards her, pointing at her the way the Bible mentioned Judas pointing at Jesus in betrayal._

_Hard blue-green eyes looked upon her in malice, the words out of her body's mouth opposed the deep baritone's of Klaus' voice speaking in an almost trance like state, "if you kill me... you'll die." _

_Bringing her arms up to her face to brace herself from the attack, she screamed._

"Caroline!" a high pitched voice squeaked loudly in her ears as the scream caught in her throat.

"It was a dream…" she panted as she ignored Klaus staring at her in worry. She screwed her eyes tightly shut as she swallowed against the dry feeling in her throat. The remaining panic from her weird dream ebbed away once she remembered she was on a plane and as safe as she can be in her situation.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asked, his blue-green eyes wide in rare concern that he only ever shows her once in a blue moon.

She swallowed again, nodding as words died in her throat when she looked back at Klaus. She remembered those same eyes, her face, viciously attack her over the dying boy.

Caroline's always been an adventurous sleeper, her dreams usually took her to shadowy places her conscious mind never allowed her to stray. But that dream… that boy she was protecting... he looked like—

"Good, pull yourself together then." Klaus snapped, closing down on his worry and going back to the same hard ass from before.

Flagging down a flight attendant, she ordered herself a bottle of water as Klaus continued to speak onto deaf ears; he was talking to himself because she honestly wasn't listening.

"—and we're only a half hour away from landing, I need to stay on my toes. I don't need to be worrying about you right now, Caroline. Honestly. We have much more important things to be dealing with than your night terrors, presumably involving some bloody cheerleading routine gone awry. We'll be meeting with Marcel once we land, you being distracted will not get us anywhere with my plan so I say you pick up your big girl knickers and—"

"Marcel?" she asked suddenly, the name pulled her out of her inner thoughts. She decided not to mention that her nightmare didn't involve something as shallow as a ruined dance routine, thank you very much! "Seriously? I thought the dude was trying to kill you, why the heck are we meeting with _him_?"

Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes slow enough for her to see that he found her question to be completely stupid.

Ever since the night before when he openly confessed his feelings for her he had been more nasty than usual. So what she couldn't say the same back? She had a _boyfriend_!

That night she had ended up confessing to the rouse she was playing, that she and Tyler hadn't broken up –leaving out the part that he was unsiring hybrids of course– all in the name of distracting him.

Let's just say… he hadn't taken it very well. He stormed out of the room and brushed off all later apologies.

She wanted to be his friend, yeah, but she was no way in _hell_ ready to play footsies with the psycho just 'cause he was making goo-goo eyes at her. She wasn't about to relive the horror that was dating someone worse than Damon Salvatore either.

She was bigger than that now.

She will allow her little slip in lowering her defenses and being nice to him as her one 'get-out-of-jail' free card.

No way can she ever let herself get so close to him again.

As long as she was with Tyler, Klaus Mikaelson was firmly and indefinitely in the friend zone. Meaning: no more bed time stories, no more comforting him when he's angry, and no more staring at herself in the mirror before showering because she likes the sight of his butt dimples popping out when she squeezes his—_okay_.

"The mechanics of an evil mastermind's brain will forever be a mystery to you, Caroline, I guarantee that." Klaus scoffed and she wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.

The flight attendant finally came back with her water and a complimentary packet of cookies.

"When we touch down on Louisiana grounds you will play your part right. After seeing you deal with Kol, I'm confident that you know me well enough to deceive others as well. All you need to do is leave the important talking to me. Marcel likes to relive glory days, so if he talks to you just nod along and pretend to know what he's talking about."

"Okay. Just uh," she chuckled awkwardly, biting into the cookie, "just one question."

Klaus blinked, impatiently waiting for her to continue.

"_Why_ are we meeting with the _creep_ who wants to _kill_ you?" she reiterated rudely through a mouthful of dry chocolate chip cookie.

Klaus sighed and yanked a cloth napkin out of its holder between their first class seats. "Bloody Americans, such ill-mannered eaters." He wiped the cloth along her chin and brushed crumbs off the Henley she was wearing. "I am on first name basis with twenty-seven different royal families around the world, _Caroline_, please try and dig up your southern Pageant manners and present myself as so."

Caroline breathed calmly through her nose, wondering why the hell she doesn't video-tape this shit. Honestly, Klaus was the most feared man in the world why was she the exception in the joys of witnessing him wrung tighter than a coil?

"Marcel will be dead before our little trip is over, that will not change. However he has in his control a few of the more powerful witches that I know still reside here alongside with him. We need to lure one out of his demand and get her on our side."

"By 'her,' I'm guessing you already have a witch hand picked out and ready to be abducted." She sighed, staring out the window and wondering why she wasn't more concerned by these conversations anymore.

"Sophie is our key to finding Gabrielle's clan's descendants. We'll need her help, for that to happen… we need inside information on Marcel."

Sophie. There was that name again. Why did it make her itch with discomfort ever since Kol brought the name up?

* * *

They've been sitting inside a local tavern for over an hour now and all she wanted to do was hurl. Prostitutes (because they weren't classy enough to be any regular bar girls) kept throwing themselves at her in Klaus' body since the moment they arrived.

Honestly, were women always this trashy? She had to give at least five the cold shoulder cause 1) she wasn't interested and 2) uhh, hello? Do these girls know what modest clothing was? Seriously.

_I'm not jealous_, she berated herself as she sneered at a women attempting to paw at her arm. Poor girls, if only they knew she was actually a female inside this body.

Klaus sat to her left, nursing a drink as he gathered some information from a blonde waitress. If she would have known any better she'd think he was flirting with her, but the satisfaction of knowing he can't "get any" made her chuckle.

The place was loud. Drunken civilians had no problem chugging on a few kegs at only four in the afternoon, and it only seemed to get rowdier and less tasteful every minute. Her sensitive hearing, a Klaus-hybrid-attribute she hasn't gotten used to yet, added to the headache she felt stewing in her rattling brain.

As she stared at the condensation on her frosty glass of water, she counted the seconds ticking by before she would explode and drag Klaus back to his place ("_it's at the top of a hill, Caroline. Quiet a picturesque view_") for some peace and quiet.

Marcel was supposed to pick them up at the airport, go figure, the guy stood them up and instead sent a messenger to escort them through the city. She already didn't like the dude.

Her phone beeped in her pocket signaling the hundredth text message in the past hour. She's been so off kilter these past few days she didn't even give her friends any notice about her trip to "uncle Bob's" for the week. Quickly checking her inbox to read the short message from Tyler, she was bumped out of her stool by a big burly man slapping his hand on her shoulder.

"My man, back from the dead!" he shouted gleefully, pointing at her as a crowed of strangers began to crowd around her.

Her eyes widened and she gripped her glass a little tighter as her view of Klaus was cut off by this man with zero personal space courtesy.

"Yes, I'm–"

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the airport, friend. I had business to attend to. But you understand don't you? You taught me that! '_Business_ before anything,' you always said." He laughed loudly before she could comment.

Caroline reared back and took in the dark skinned man's bright smile pressed firmly into her comfort zone. His head was shinier than a cue ball and his teeth looked like glimmering white Chiclets. The men around him, probably his personal vampy security, looked like the evil villains from the Mulan movie.

She shivered. So this is _Marcel_.

"Marcel." She said seriously, hoping Klaus would poke his head through the tight-knit prayer circle around her and rescue her out of this awkward position she unconsciously found herself in.

"Niklaus Mikaelson!" he announced to the now quiet tavern. Her eyes quickly scanned the bar counter for Klaus but her own blonde haired head was nowhere in sight. "Back in New Orleans where he rightfully belongs. Our king! Welcome, Klaus. I've missed you."

A few men and women lazily cheered at those words but they didn't register to her hears.

She snapped back to stare at Marcel. _Our king_? Judging by the strange glint in his eyes, "king" was not the title he liked when referring to Klaus. He might have been smiling like he just got cast for a Colgate commercial, but this guy was faker than a Ken doll.

His crazy eyes totally rivaled Damon's.

Seriously. What was up with Klaus and his dramatics? She could see right through this dude's intentions in a second. Marcel reminded her of Amy Mayer. She was a spiteful co-captain from last year's cheer squad and tried everything in her miniscule power to bump Caroline down from Captain so she could reign in place.

Yeah right, like Caroline would ever let _that_ happen.

She decided then and there that Marcel's shitty fake attitude needed to be dealt with the same way Amy was dealt with. Pettily and without mercy.

Something in her went into "defense" mode by the way he was spitefully staring at her. Her eyes hardened and she shrugged out of Marcel's hand clasped on her shoulder.

"Yes, well." She cleared her throat like she's noticed Klaus always does when preparing for a snappy retort. "You no longer have to watch over the city for me, _friend_. I'm here now, with some business of my own to take care of… or pleasure. One never knows with me." She smiled just as falsely and patted Marcel's cheek condescendingly.

Marcel blinked widely backing up from her and then staring back in amusement. "Well, well, well. Gone is my sour teacher and in his place is a sassy mother fucker. I'm impressed. Tell me one thing though, man. Who's the pretty blonde you keep looking over your shoulder for?" he asked knowingly.

The crowd around them broke and she finally caught a glance at Klaus sitting alone in the corner of the room, nursing a beer and pretending to look meek away from all the action.

Caroline froze, before a slow practiced smile slapped onto her face. She now understood why Klaus didn't come to her defense. This was all according to his plan. Well, good thing for him she was a good improv.

"Oh? You mean my new protégé? Yeah, I picked her up somewhere in Northern Canada. Watch yourself though, she's got a mean bark I doubt you'd want to know what her bite is like." She taunted, knowing if this guy ever crept up onto her body it would actually be Klaus he was macking up on.

"New protégé, huh?" Marcel's eyes narrowed in contemplation and she almost flinched in fear she had made a big mistake with the little white lie.

Suddenly though, his narrowed eyes lit up and he smiled bigger and brighter than before. She almost winced at the glare coming from those pearly whites.

Cracking a nervous smile as well, she tensed up as Marcel quickly wrapped his arms around her in a semi-friendlier version of the hug Kol gave her yesterday. She almost puked from the whiplash.

"A new protégé! I see after your first star pupil prospered you wanted another, huh?" Marcel joked, plopping onto the barstool next to her and shooing his clan of freaky, silent disciples to go about their own way.

"So. Klaus. My friend. My pal. My confidant. What is it you're here for? Maybe I can help." He provided kindly, slapping his hands together beneath his chin as if he were about to pray.

"Just visiting my city, Marcel. Is that so hard to believe?" she lied. Her eyes glanced over to Klaus who was now chatting up that blonde bartender girl from before.

Marcel turned to look. "She's pretty. What's her name?"

"Caroline."

"Caroline… what?"

"Lockwood." She lied. She was so not giving her full name to this creep.

"Caroline Lockwood." He hummed the name, leering at her body across the room like a hungry man would a burger.

Aware that she still had his minion's eyes on her, she got up and slapped a few loose bills onto the table to pay for their drinks. "I'll keep in touch while I'm here." she nodded to Marcel, making her leave before he could start talking about "the good old days" like Klaus had said he probably would.

Marcel stood up as well and tipped his invisible hat at her. "I'll see you and uh, Caroline, around." He said nicely, but it sounded more like a threat to her suspicious ears.

Pivoting around, she attempted at sauntering towards Klaus. Quickly taking his hand she dragged him out of the bar, not before throwing a cold glare at the girl he was chatting up, and hauled him onto the crowded street.

People buzzed by loudly, singing and dancing to the rhythm of their own minds along the winding cobblestone streets.

"Let's get out of here," she said finally, tightening her hand around his. Klaus remained wordless, staring at the hand she had clenched around his. "We gotta plan phase one of Mission: knock Marcel down a few pegs. The guy's a total creep."

* * *

"This isn't some petty high school drama you can get rid of with fake gossip and Nair in the shampoo bottle, Caroline. This is real, avenging, conquer all-destroy all, planning we are doing here and I for one – are you paying attention?"

She rolled her eyes, from her seat in Klaus' office chair in front of a giant floor to ceiling window overlooking the acres upon acres of lush green weeping willows.

She was once again not paying attention to him. Instead, she was wondering how the hell someone who physically cannot stay in one place for more than a few months could own such… Jesus Christ. The man can… his place was… this place was surreal.

Klaus' mansion, was… no – Klaus' _palace_, his fucking _palace_, can't be described properly for fear that words wouldn't do it justice. This house ('cause it sure didn't feel like a home) was a Tuscan castle planted smack in the middle of a plantation lavished with rolling green hills spread as far as her eye can see.

They had to take a small helicopter over all that land just to get to his front door. Very tiny, just a speck to her detailed vampire vision, past all the trees and lakes, she could see the beginnings of civilization.

Everything in the place dripped money and extravagance. From crystal chandeliers older than God himself, to antique mirrors even the ugliest of persons couldn't crack. Silk rugs, shiny marble, high detailed ceilings, and the _windows_. Oh the views out of all those windows were to die for.

So, _no_. She was not paying attention to him.

She wondered how on earth the man could put so much gold and jewels into a house he doesn't even live in, when there are people in this world starving for food and clean water and without a shelter over their heads.

Just another thing to tick off on the endless list of reasons why she would never date Niklaus Mikaelson. He was a greedy man if this place was anything to go by.

"I know this isn't some Lifetime movie, Klaus. I already apologized to you for provoking him, but what was I supposed to do?" she cried out in frustration. "You don't give me anything to go by! You told me on the plane you would have everything covered and I didn't have to worry about anything. If I hadn't caught on to your little tactic who knows what would have happened?"

She watched Klaus' fight to contain himself from biting back. "Caroline, I–"

"The dude totally wants your invisible throne." She ranted, disregarding whatever he had to say. "Whatever witches he has, he probably has them under lock and key and preparing to do something against you." She walked closer to him, bending down to eye level with him. "I need you to trust me enough to tell me things, Klaus… If we don't start letting each other in then maybe we'll never get back to our own bodies."

"I needed you unaware of Marcel, otherwise the whole meeting would have looked fake. I know you, Caroline, you're not the best under pressure."

"Well I did fine today, didn't I?" she snapped.

"Yes, love, you did great–" she didn't point out this is the first time he called her "love" since last night. "–and I am proud you held yourself together so nicely. Congrats. You passed. One point for you, love. You go!" That's twice now he's called her love. She almost sighed at his sarcasm with that stupid pet name.

"Fine. Let's pause _this_ argument and open up the _other_ one now."

"What are you talking about now, Caroline?" he sighed.

"I've been doing some thinking."

He muttered, "of course you have."

"Aaand…" she ignored his comment, "This body swap? I've seen enough romantic comedies to know that when unexplained things happen between a boy and a girl, it's usually because the universe wants them to get along."

Klaus' ears perked up at that. "Great! Break up with Tyler. Then the universe shall see just how well you and I can get along."

Caroline huffed but ignored his comment. "We figure out Marcel's thing with the witches. I'm assuming that's what you were doing with the bartender bimbo. I need you to trust me with whatever plan you've got cooked up in that brain of yours. If I know you at all, which let's face it, is better than any living person can say, then you left me to the wolves because you knew something I didn't. You can't let that happen again, next time I might not catch on as quickly and we'll both be screwed over."

"Marcel and his men are hardly wolves, you were fine Caroline." He scoffed.

She screeched something unintelligible. Stomping her foot at his incapability to be serious for five minutes, she smacked him hard on the shoulder and pushed him back a few inches with the hit. He just smirked, pushing her back in response.

"Next time we do something tell me what's happening okay? We can't be a team if I'm doing all the talking while you sit back and watch it happen in your little know-it-all bubble."

Her attempt at getting through to him was backfiring as he remained the same stone faced grandpa he always is. Always refusing help. Always refusing to believe he wasn't completely alone in his battles.

She'll show him. She didn't have to be in love with him to prove that she was on his side.

* * *

**A/N: That dream was the biggest clue ever to "the green thing" as many of you dubbed it. I'm scared I totally gave it away. If I did, I am confident none of you will guess the how's, why's, what's, or the WTF's to it all!**

**A giant thank you to everyone who reviewed! Norwaygirl95, Little Missy123, CarelessLove91, zalmx'z 1ArX aLeXanDrX, SpringOfMay, kk bk, MissK, cerebralraven, Carlalove, M akay 25, Mars1864, Amys, and AAG2649! You guys are always the best! **

**I apologize, this puppy took me a week longer than I expected, I kept switching through ideas on how I wante the chapter to start and finish, I hope I did my and your expectations justice.**

**To the guest who asked me something: ****AAG2649****: Thank you for your help! I like to think I'm good and on point with my spelling and punctuation but we all make mistakes. Even the best of authors do, and I'm only a mediocre one. No, this story doesn't have a Beta. I don't think Fanfiction will let me use one unless I have 5+ stories (I think?) submitted. If not, I wouldn't even know where to begin searching for someone willing to help. If anyone is interested let me know!**

**You guys know I love your input and any ideas or scenes you want here! this story is for YOU (and me too) so it would only make sense to know what YOU want!**

**Until next time!**

**Love, Kathy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I do not own TVD or any of its characters, nor do I have a Beta. I apologize for any mistakes in spelling and/or punctuation. **

**I was so excited to give you this chapter! Please excuse any mistakes!**

* * *

**Change**

_Once burned, twice shy._

_Too much of your light makes me blind._

_Don't care what you do now._

_Don't want to be spun around. _

_I want to live in darkness._

–_Sun of a Gun by Oh Land_

**Chapter Eight**

When Klaus had first told her about the "dimensions" within New Orleans, she pictured something like a real-life version of Doctor Who to transpire. She couldn't have been more off.

Early the next morning after arriving, Klaus dragged her into the edge of a forest completely on the other side of the city. Within the green moss and thicket of swaying swamp grass, was a shimmering layer right smack between two unusually thin trees. A clear glass wall hidden in the depths of mosquito infested land stood the first portal.

"It looks like a mirage." Caroline said, staring at the vibrating atmosphere, beckoning them forward.

Klaus glanced up at her smugly, taking in her quiet wonder with the same greedy expectation he gives anyone else he's trying to impress.

"This takes us to an unmarked village on the European seaboard, behind that wall," he pointed forward with a nod of his head, "is real, true magic. Nothing like the hocus pocus you've seen your Bennett witch do."

"And you're positive your friend Sophia will have information for us?"

Klaus clicked his tongue, hands deep in the pockets of the uncomfortable skinny jeans Caroline owned and forced him into. "No. But it's our first step to figuring out why this has happened. I've known Sophie a while… she's bound to know something. Whatever help she wants from me, I assure you she will return the favor by helping us. Come love, take my hand."

As if the past day's ire had completely rolled off his shoulders (_again_) his hot and cold attitude had paused and in its place left a very complacent serial killer. She shook her head to herself happy that for once he listened to her demands in having him trust her.

She doubted many people know about these portals or this oh so important Sophia girl. "Step 1: Friends trust each other" is now partially complete.

Taking her familiar dainty hand into her now big manly one, she clasped their fingers together.

Mentally preparing for whatever was on that other side might have been smart in hindsight.

Without another word, Klaus quickly hurtled them through the hazy wall in front of them. The portal sucked them through and with a loud whoosh, the same sound you hear when you're speeding through a narrow tunnel, they were no longer in the middle of a swamp land.

Opening her eyes hesitantly, she realized they were now on a dusty sidewalk in a bright sunny village. Birds chirped loudly as they flew from tree to tree in the quint little neighborhood they now stood in.

The smell of freshly baked bread and cut grass permeated her senses and all she wanted to do was sit and count every colorful flower in the garden next to her. She half expected Snow White to appear from behind one of the trees and singing to a few blue jays.

"Is this what you meant by magical? Cause I can totally understand." She said in awe as she watched an elderly couple slowly biking down the old winding street.

Klaus smiled, watching Caroline in all her enthusiasm. "You haven't seen the magic yet, love"

He watched Caroline squinted at the house across the street from them. In such a bright and vibrant neighborhood, the house across from them was… downright gloomy.

"Let me guess. Sophia lives in that one?"

Klaus laughed at her sour expression and obvious confusion at why such a run-down house was plopped in the middle of the Stepford-like neighborhood.

They made their way down the long narrow brick crossway to the front door. She stepped around broken stone and twisting weeds, as Klaus walked straight through without a care as he stepped over dead flowers and tree roots. She had half a mind to remember that plants _don't _creepily grab at your ankles and trip you on purpose like they do in cartoons…

The "garden" for lack of a better term, was dirt filled. A lone rose bush near the house's entrance was dried and withered, a single gust of wind would blow the desiccated roses to plumes of dust.

Whereas all the other houses in the cute neighborhood were deluxe with the same vibrantly colorful theme, this one was grey and run down. Old chipping blue shutters were falling apart off the windows on both stories of the crumbling brick house and the roof had several holes in it. Four of the six front windows were shattered or completely gone. From what she could see, the inside was depressingly dark inside.

Klaus knocked on the cracking door, a faded rusty red.

Caroline stood with squared shoulders as she suppressed a shudder at the ominous feeling when an old man called gruffly through the closed door, "who is it?!"

"Niklaus Mikaelson."

The door slowly creaked open, a small wrinkled old man popped his head out through the door.

Caroline immediately thought he looked like a cross between a raisin, Gandhi, and that crazy guy from Back to The Future when she looked down at the little old man with goggled glasses and fraying white hair tucked behind his long earlobes.

The man squinted at Klaus in Caroline's body. "Hello, Niklaus."

Her eyes bugged out at the old man's ability to tell between Klaus and Caroline even after their switch.

Without another word, the old man allowed Klaus to enter. "And you? Name?"

Caroline looked to Klaus and he nodded her to go on, "Caroline Fo–"

"Ah! Caroline! Yes! Come in. The girl in the man's body! Come in, you unfortunate soul!" he excitedly took her hand as his accented voice reached her ears when he began chatting away as if they were old friends, leading her through the winding hallways of the dark and moldy house.

"–been expecting you, didn't actually think that you'd show up so soon. Happened much earlier than expected! Much earlier! Oh girl and you're so beautiful. Beautiful." He ranted, his last comment was said to her but he was staring at Klaus, shuffling through the hall in her body. The seedy old man cackled as he pet Caroline's masculine hand like one would a cat or a wayward grandchild.

They finally reached a small room lit by numerous candles of all shapes and sizes. "Devereaux, enough with the games." Klaus rolled his eyes as he inspected a bookshelf filled with dusty novels and texts. She shot a quick glare at his back for being to rude.

She liked the creepy little dude.

The entire room was so… dirty. The floors were crusted over and every corner of the ceiling was lined with cobwebs. For such a lively old man, he sure didn't live like it. "Forgive me for asking, sir, but… Why do you live in such a… a…"

"Dump?" he supplied, as he now rummaged through a big old trunk on the other side of the room from them.

She winced, it was exactly what she'd been thinking before trying to find a less harsh word. "Yeah."

Klaus snorted in amusement but didn't say anything.

"That's because I don't." The old man, smiling mysteriously, the glint in his eyes giving away the power behind him. "Sweetheart," he chirped, "my name is Sopheclees."

Her eyes bugged out of their sockets for the second time that day. Sopheclees? As in the same Sophie that Klaus and Kol kept talking about? _This_ was the infamous "Sophia?"

He began to chant a few words, throwing a few stones into a brass bowl in the center of the room circled by candles. Flames lit up in the bowl causing Caroline to close her eyes as she winced from the blinding white light the room was encased in.

As she blinked open her eyes again, she gasped.

They were no long in the dirty room… or… actually, it was the same room but…

"Wha–" She looked around, the cobwebs were gone, the dust was nonexistent, and the colorful marble floor glimmered shinier than the most polished gem. A crystal chandelier that wasn't there before lit the room brightly.

"Caroline, welcome to my home." Sopheclees grinned from his knees in front of a shining golden bowl wedged into the floor.

"How did–"

"Sopheclees is one of the most powerful witches I know… if not _the_ most powerful."

"Three hundred years on this earth would do that to you, cupcake." Sopheclees piped up as he jumped up from his knees and strolled over to the bookshelf, practically pushing Klaus out of the way, who just glared and threw himself on a colorful floor cushion.

If she didn't like the old man before, she was about to declare her love to him as she watched him manhandle Klaus.

_He must really be powerful if he can walk around unaffected by Klaus' glares. _Klaus chuckled at her and shot her a wink, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Not that I don't love magic tricks," she joked, "what exactly are we doing here? You obviously know something's up between Klaus and I, do you know what it is? Do you know what did this to us? How can we get back to our own bodies?"

"Because you seek answers that your ignorance can't give you. Because you want confirmation to something you don't yet understand. Because you're confused and need guidance. Because a new friend is a good friend until proven otherwise. Because when I look upon Niklaus wearing your beautiful blonde hair glimmering like a thousand crying suns it makes me want to–"

"Sopheclees!" Klaus snapped with a growl. Sopheclees glared.

Caroline looked between the two, confused. "Um."

Sopheclees sighed, and took Caroline by the hands and sat her down gently on a floor cushion beside Klaus.

He walked over to his bookshelf, nodding to himself as he looked for the right book, grabbing it then walking to his large mahogany desk on the other side of the room. He mumbled a few words to himself as she quickly flipped through page after page.

Caroline turned her head to Klaus. "I feel like Alice who just dropped into Wonderland," she mumbled.

Klaus couldn't contain his smirk as he pat Caroline on her pant suit-clad leg.

"He's that unlucky rabbit who forgot to take his aderall. I'm your run of the mill mad hatter, love. And trust me" he whispered conspiringly, "Alice's golden hair has nothing on your thousand glittering suns." He joked back, flipping said hair over his shoulder like he's seen her do a million times.

Completely shocking Caroline that he could even joke around like that in the first place, she let out a loud gruff snort at his taunt at Sopheclees' comment.

"You know I can hear you two." A female voice quipped. Caroline's attention snapped back to the mahogany desk. Where Sopheclees was standing before now stood a thin boho chic woman around her age. Her shiny black hair was pulled back by a colorful bandana and her wrap around dress showed off curves Caroline almost openly wept at in envy.

"Who–"

"You can call me Sopheclees Devereaux, at your service." She grinned brightly at her.

Her brows scrunched together, she turned to look at Klaus who just smirked at the old witch's antics.

"Wh–"

"Old and powerful usually amounts to a few tricks up my sleeve. I can make you two see whatever and whomever I want…a gift that if used in the wrong hands can be deadly." She smirked as she sauntered over to Caroline and Klaus confidently. "The old haunted house and the crazy old man persona are to keep my identity hidden. Only the people who I let find the portal to this place are able to."

She thrust her hand out at Caroline for a handshake. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Sopheclees, but you can still call me Sophia. Or Sophie, if you prefer, now that I consider you a friend." She grinned.

"It's nice to meet you, Sophie." She tentatively grinned back. "But again. _What_?"

"I told you… magic you wouldn't believe." Klaus smirked, getting up alongside Caroline and touching her elbow in reassurance. "Sopheclees, Sophia, Sophie, whichever she chooses to be on her whims, is my most trusted witch. She knows about prophecies more intimately than anyone else. If Gabrielle's words held any true meaning, Sophie would know it." He finished simply.

She turned to address Sophie honestly. "That's nice and all, but I don't see how you _knowing_ about what happened to us will exactly help us in getting _back_."

"Yes." Sophie snapped, turning to face Klaus, "so, sit down and keep that pretty pink mouth you're now wearing shut so I can get down to business."

He opened his mouth to respond but before he could, a familiar song began ringing from his jacket pocket.

"Is that my cell phone?" She asked, staring at the white touch screen device ringing in his hand.

"It's the younger Salvatore idiot. Probably wondering your whereabouts. I'll take this in the next room, love." He brought the phone to his ear and put on his best Caroline act to fool Damon.

"I thought he'd never leave!" the witch groaned as she closed the door behind him. "He won't be back for a while. Damon and Stefan Salvatore are currently crossing Louisiana state lines, Klaus will make sure word won't get back to them that you two are currently hiding out outside New Orleans." Sophie grinned, "which gives us time to talk."

"How do you know Damon and Stefan? And that they will be in Louisiana?"

"I have the gift of foresight, among other things." Sophie walked over to a kettle perched over a flaming fireplace she was positive wasn't there before.

"Other things?" Caroline asked curiously.

"That's what I like about you, sweet Caroline trapped-in-Niklaus'-body Forbes." She chirped as she poured boiling water into two china cups. "You ask out of curiosity, without any ill intentions or double meanings. Innocent aura you have, powerful, bright. Completely warring with the dark man whose body you now habituate." She sighed wistfully as she stared at an unseen object over Caroline's frame.

"Um. I don't speak witch." She smiled softly and sat next to Sophie. The old wooden chair was too narrow to comfortably fit her bulky frame into, so she hunched over to sitting with her elbows on her knees.

"Good, because I never liked to either! Witches are always so damn cryptic, it pisses me off!" Sophie laughed at her joke to her own kind. "A witch, after so many years on earth, begins to receive gifts from Mother Nature. The more we help balance the world, the more the world gives back to us." She began, pouring her fifth spoon of sugar into her dark tea. "Flowers need sunlight, correct?" she asked Caroline, peeking up at her through her dark lashes and wisps of waved black hair.

Caroline nodded her head.

"Darkness needs light as well in order to flourish. Without light, dark isn't as dark and light isn't as light and it's a never ending pattern."

"You lost me at 'darkness.' Is this some sort of metaphor referring to Klaus and I? Because if I hear 'you are the light to his darkness' one more time, I think I'll scream."

The old witch giggled loudly like a teenaged school girl, "it's exactly what I'm trying to say. And you'd be wise to accept it, sweet pea, because it's true." She smiled, pouring yet another spoonful of sugar into her untouched tea.

Caroline sipped hers as she held back a smile, secretly pleased her life had some sort of meaning now, even if was something creepily weird like being Klaus' "light."

Klaus walked into the room at that moment, red faced and angry. She noticed the light vein on her familiar forehead, one that she knows bulges on her face when she's particularly mad with a specific cheer leader or volunteer worker.

Sophie shot her a wink.

"I need to go and deal with those imbecilic twats you call friends." He spat out as he clutched _her_ delicate phone in the air. "They've caught scent of us in New Orleans and want to meet with you, well me, for some answers. Let's go."

"No." Caroline frowned. "I just made a friend, Klaus. You go and do whatever you need to do. I'll be here when you get back. I trust you." She forced a patient smile.

_Teammates. Teammates. Teammates. Trust him. He's got my back. Try and be nice. Teammates. Trust him. _The words were a forced mantra. If she showed Klaus he could be trusted, then he would eventually do the same and then their involuntary time together would be smooth sailing.

She wasn't known as the Mystic Falls master male manipulator for nothing. She waved him off. Klaus stared at her with his mouth agape at her demand.

He furrowed his brow. "Yes, but–"

"I'll be good here." Instinctually, she patted his busty chest over his necklaces fondly and tucked a bit of his long wayward curls behind his ear like an affectionate mother hen. "Here. Take a cookie for the road." She grabbed a few biscotti from the snack tray Sophie had put on the table and shoved them into his hands as he raised a brow at her insolence.

"Come back later when the Damon and Stef have chilled out. Okay?" She sat back down and crossed her arms in finality, taking a sip from her hot tea like she didn't just emasculate the world's most powerful creature in front of another person.

"If I didn't make it clear enough, let me just say, you are my newest best friend." Sophie piped up, smirking at the girl's power over the Original Hybrid. Only… Caroline was now the Original Hybrid now, wasn't she?

"I'll contact you when I'm on my way back then." He left the room without another word or huff.

* * *

"Back to what I was saying," she stirred her sugared tea hiding a smirk behind her hand. "The more we witches help Mother Nature, the more we get repaid for our services. I've been alive for a long time. I was the one to help Klaus bring up New Orleans, the portals, and all the supernatural peace within that state. Marcel is out to destroy that peace, it's why I sent word for Niklaus' help to begin with" she rambled, "but that's an issue for when he comes back, sugar plum." She poured another heaping of sugar into her untouched tea.

"Okay. So, witchy gifts?" she got the eccentric woman back on track.

"Yes, yes, yes. One of the gifts I have the gift of foresight, I can see the future before fate even knows what's next on her hit list. It's how I know when I should conceal my identity before an enemy arrives, or how I knew you were one of the good ones before you even finished saying the first syllable in your last name. I know the Gabrielle's prophecy 'intimately' as Klaus puts it, because I was the one who foresaw its potential."

Caroline's eyes widened. "But… why? If you were around when Gabrielle scared Klaus half to death with her mumbo jumbo, why not tell him, us, what the heck is going on? We're fighting a battle blind here."

"Darkness needs light, Caroline. Balance. It's the only way the world can go on in its madness." She smiled simply, pushing away her tea from her without ever even trying it.

"Is your tea cold?"

"Oh no I don't like tea," Sophie swatted her hand in the air.

"For someone who doesn't like cryptic talk, you sure do talk a lot of bull." She joked, confident with her new friendship with the peculiar witch.

"Light, dark, big, small, vampire, werewolves. There's a balance, apple pie. Klaus pretty much broke the balance by breaking the curse a few months ago."

"But you knew he was going to–"

"Yes. I knew, same way Gabrielle knew, that he would break the curse centuries before it happened. It was his insurance. It gave him that small glimmer of hope that keeps us all in motion. It's what kept him going on his relentless search for a doppelganger even after that Katerina woman deceived him."

"So if you knew he was going to 'break the balance,' as you say, why did you let him do it?"

"No one _lets_ Niklaus do anything, sugar lips." She giggled, "you should know that more than anyone."

Caroline smiled in agreement. "So the reason our lives got switched–"

"Because Gabrielle was a scared woman and did not know how to tell someone as fearsome as Niklaus that he would someday become weak in his affections for you, dear. She would rather live in fairytale land than own up to her true potential."

"She wrote Beauty and the Beast." Caroline pointed out. Honestly, how badly could someone be living in their "fairy tale world" when such a beautiful love story came out of it. She tactfully chose not to address her statement towards Klaus' affections for her.

Sophie stared at her pointedly, as if she was missing something that was right in front of her. "And where do you think she got the main idea for her story?"

"Beauty and The Beast was written about _us_?" Her eyes widened in almost disgust at that revelation.

"That is your answer, Caroline." Sophie said finally after a long silence. "I don't know why this happened, only that it did. Something, or maybe someone, wants you and Klaus to realize something neither of you are realizing is right in front of your noses. What can help you? Nothing but yourselves. Keep doing what you're doing. Befriend him. Be kind to him. The rest will sort itself. It's not a battle, Caroline." She smiled. "You can't fight against something that has been set in stone. Stop questioning _why_ things happen to you, and start questioning what you're going to do about it."

"Okay." She nodded, dazed as she twisted long hairy fingers back and forth on her lap. "So this is real then? I'm stuck in this hybrid body with bipolar emotions until what? Klaus is my friend?"

"From what I see, you two are already friends." Sophie patted Caroline's hand. "Fate has a way of bringing people together. Your path is just clearer to you now. Look how easy it was for you to fuss over him and boss him around, regardless of your ill feelings for him and his past misdeeds."

She froze. Caroline barely even noticed what her earlier actions toward Klaus would look like to a third party. Affectionate? Caring? Compassionate? Caroline thought of all the times she demanded something of Klaus and pushed at him with sharp words whereas her actions spoke differently. It was a crappy act that Sophie could see right through.

Had she always been fussing over him like that? _No, s_he thought. _This was a new thing_.

She furrowed her brows, Caroline was feeling the beginnings of a major headache. As cool as Sophie was and as interesting as this conversation was getting, she was confused beyond belief. _No cryptic talk, my ass. All witches are vague as shit._

"I have a boyfriend. Whatever kindness I give Klaus–"

"Tyler Lockwood is not yours to keep." Sophie said bluntly. Caroline furrowed her brows, quickly removing her hands from under Sophie's attempt at comfort.

"Excuse me?" Her mind flew to Hayley and the way Tyler and she were whispering inside his house that night she condemned Chris' death. Her inner insecurities flared at the statement that Tyler wasn't hers. _Of course he was hers,_ she scoffed.

"Think about how he treats your relationship, little dove. But I will not say more on the matter of your… boyfriend." Sophie said simply, smiling softly at Caroline as she broke through her internal musings.

She squared her shoulders. She still felt like an unknown weight was placed on her shoulders. "What does it mean to be his light? Klaus I mean." She asked in fear. That usual feeling of guilt and anxiety churned in her belly made its appearance. She felt like she was betraying her friends for accepting the crazy without a question.

"Do I have to like, guide Klaus out of the darkness or something like that? Do I have to make him into a good person?" The weight on Caroline's shoulders became more crushing as she thought of how difficult that task would be.

Sophie, to her surprise, guffawed at Caroline's question. "Oh dear god, no!" She laughed, her giant hoop earrings glinting in the sunlight with every movement. "Can you imagine how hard _that_ would be? Dear, child, you're not a miracle worker!"

Caroline smirked, but a little uncomfortable with her gibe at Klaus. A phone chirped from the pocket of the black slacks. Klaus' phone lit up in her hand with a text.

**From**: **Klaus**

**Message**: _Say your goodbyes. I'll be there soon. _

"Klaus I take it?" Sophie smiled, breaking the companionable silence and leading her toward the front door.

"Yeah. He'll be here soon." She sighed as she stared at the bright hallways, furnished richly and brightly. Unlike when she first walked in, everything was clean, colorful, and tasteful. The lavish décor matched everything she's learned today about the bohemian fashionista walking next to her.

"So you'll heed my advice? Keep doing what you've been doing for now. Your answers will be revealed soon, I hope."

"Rooming in with Klaus for x amount of time? Excuse me if that sounds a little less than desirable right now." Caroline scoffed. Sophie just smiled at her with wise eyes, already knowing something the other didn't.

* * *

**A/N: Sopheclees = Sa-fe-kleez, in case any of you were confused.**

**I have a few points I would like to make about this chapter and the story in general:**

**1. There is a ton of dialogue here. I apologize if some of you don't like that but I got way too excited writing about Sophie. She's a new character no one really delves into. In order for you all to understand why she does what she will be doing (cough, cough) you all should at first get to know her and empathize with the eccentric witch. She has a part in this story so this chapter consisted mainly for her.**

**2. We realized this chapter that Sophie, along with the ever elusive Gabrielle, knew the switch was going to happen many many years before it did. But what we find out is, even though she's all knowing, she's not exactly **_**all**_** knowing. She doesn't know why Klaus and Caroline woke up in different bodies like this, but her advice is to do what they've already been doing and maybe shit will just fix itself eventually.**

**3. Yes. In "Change" Beauty and The Beast was written off the prophecy Gabrielle enacted after reading Klaus' future. Klaus being the beast and Caroline the Beauty. That will come up very soon along with my theory about "souls" and their "eyes" from the earlier chapters.**

**4. Tyler isn't all he's cracked up to be, and here Caroline realized that her actions towards Klaus contradict her feelings and thoughts. I know some of you are worried, but don't worry you guys, there will be no baby plot, nor will Tyler have any part in breaking up klaroline here, in fact he will be the push that will put them together...**

**5. Right now this story is heading in an 18 chapter (maybe 20) chapter total. That's due to change depending if use up an entire chapter for an important conversation like I did to this one!**

**6. Sophia's real name is Sopheclees. With that said, no, Sophia is not a man! She just has the ability to make people see what she wants them to see.**

**Now that that's cleared: a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed! Hans, sweetandlow1012, suzypyong, cerebralraven, CarelessLove91, Norwaygirl95, zalmx'z 1ArX aLeXanDrX, Maiqu, HotHybrissex, Little Missy 123, miss K, TwistedType, AAG2649, shakabra23. **

**-****-Next up: **_the nightmare and the "green thing" makes its reappearance, the Salvatore brothers come out to play, some sexual questions arise, and a blood bath will perhaps ensue._

**Hang on tight because shit will hit the fan.**

**Until next time!**

**Love, Kathy :)**


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